Baseball: Ohtani gets win on mound, 3 hits at plate

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani overcame a rocky fourth inning on the mound to earn his fourth win of the season as the Los Angeles Angels pulled off an 8-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.

Ohtani (4-0) allowed five runs on three hits, two of them homers, in six innings while striking out eight, walking two and hitting three batters in a 93-pitch rollercoaster outing. At the plate, he finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Needing a homer for the cycle in the eighth, Ohtani sent a deep fly ball to center field, only to be caught at the warning track by Esteury Ruiz in the series finale at Angel Stadium.

Ohtani broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double in the Angels' five-run third but blew the lead in the next inning on the mound, running into control issues and giving up three-run and two-run homers to Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers, respectively.

The right-hander had retired the first nine batters he faced, striking out five of them.

Brandon Drury hit a three-run homer in the third inning for the Angels, who took the lead for good at 6-5 in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk to Luis Rengifo.

Ohtani was relieved with an 8-5 lead. The Angels dropped the opener of this four-game series but won the next three.

At Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki had a double in four at-bats in a 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres.

© Kyodo News