Shohei Ohtani earned his third win of the season after holding the Detroit Tigers to a run over six innings to help the Los Angeles Angels snap their three-game losing skid Thursday with a 7-5 win.
Ohtani (3-1) allowed five hits, a walk and a hit batsman while striking out five in a 78-pitch effort, and he walked twice in three trips to the plate batting second at Angel Stadium.
"I felt really good physically considering it was after only five days rest, and I felt OK on the mound too," said the two-way star who gave up his only run on a sixth-inning home run. "I wasn't striking people out, but our defense helped me to get through six innings."
Ohtani was in trouble right from the start of the game, issuing a leadoff walk and a one-out single. The Tigers put two on with no outs in the fourth with a single and a hit batsman, but a double play ended the jam as he again came away unscathed.
The Angels grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second through hustle and good base running, keyed by Kean Wong's one-out double on a groundball to center. Luis Rengifo singled him home, went to third on a missed catch and scored on David Fletcher's single off Matt Manning (0-1), who lost his major league debut.
The Angels defense was crucial in Ohtani keeping the Tigers off the board until Jonathan Schoop homered with one out in the sixth.
The Angels erupted for five runs in the seventh, including four on a Taylor Ward grand slam, and held onto the win despite allowing four runs in the last two innings.
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