Ohtani, Trout homer in 7-3 Angels win, ends Red Sox hitting streak – KGET 17

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout played in the same game for the 26th time, leading the Los Angeles Angels to their fourth straight win and defeating the Boston Red Sox with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday night.

“It’s pretty cool when we go deep twice,” Trout said. “Good things are happening. … (The Red Sox) beat us three out of four when we played them there (in Boston), so it’s good to clean up a little bit.”

Rookie Zach Neto hit a three-run homer during the Angels’ four-run second inning and added a double in his first three-hit game for Los Angeles, which has won six of seven overall.

The Angels’ MVP duo came through in the early innings. Ohtani connected in the third for his team-leading 12th homer, driving James Paxton (1-1) into the opposite field for his fourth hit in 10 days. The pitch was 3.74 feet above the ground, making it the second highest pitch Ohtani has ever played on.

“That’s a lot of power right there,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said before referring to the cloudy, cold weather patterns known as May Gray or June Gloom this time of year in Southern California. “The ball didn’t carry very well tonight, (so) going the other way with the air like it is now (impressive).”

Trout followed in the fourth with a two-run shot off Nick Pivetta, tying Ohtani’s season total with his fourth homer in seven days. The three-time AL MVP also passed Joe DiMaggio with his 362nd career homer.

“You can just feel the excitement in the dugout and how excited the fans are” when Ohtani and Trout go deep, Angels starter Tyler Anderson said.

Connor Wong hit back for the Red Sox, who lost four straight for the second time in two weeks. Masataka Yoshida doubled and scored in the fourth off Enrique Hernández, but Boston scored just four runs during its four-game skid.

“I think today was a lot better (offensively) than the last two nights,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We took a walk and hit some balls hard. Obviously at the end of the day it matters how many runs you score, but I thought the approach was much better.”

Anderson (2-0) allowed five hits and one run over six innings for his first win in eight starts. The veteran left-hander has gone seven straight no-decisions since his Los Angeles debut on April 2, but has improved his ERA to 3.14 over his last five starts after a rough start to his Angels career.

Paxton lasted just three innings in his third start back from Tommy John surgery and a hamstring injury, giving up five runs, four hits and three walks.

“Things were fine,” Cora said. “Only the command was off.”

Los Angeles took a 4-0 lead in the second inning on Gio Urshela’s RBI fly followed by Netto’s third career homer. The 22-year-old rookie has firmly taken over the starting shortstop job since his major league debut in Boston last month, providing stellar defense and a steadily improving offense.

“You can see how comfortable I am,” Neto said. “I’m going to go out there and have fun and be myself.”

UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARY

The Angels improved to 28-23 a year after their final win before beginning a record 14-game losing streak that ended their previously promising 2022 season and led to the firing of manager Joe Maddon.

ROOM for trainers

Red Sox: New starter Corey Kluber moves to the bench this weekend with the imminent return of Garrett Whitlock, who has been sidelined since April 22 with an elbow injury.

Angels: Anthony Rendon did agility on the field before the game. The $245 million third baseman has been sidelined since May 13 with groin tightness. … OF Mickey Moniak rested a day after batting .419 with four homers and a 1.373 OPS in his first 10 games back in the majors.

NEXT

Red Sox: After a day off, Chris Sale (4-2, 5.01 ERA) enters Phoenix on Friday to open a three-game series with the Diamondbacks.

Angels: After a day off at home, Reid Detmers (0-3, 4.87 ERA) enters a three-game series with the Miami Marlins on Friday.

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