ANAHEIM, Calif. – Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 13th home run and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the slumping Cleveland Indians 7-4 on Monday night after star outfielder Mike Trout was injured early.
Trout strained his right calf in the first inning. The three-time AL MVP was limping after running to third on an inning-ending popup.
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Manager Joe Maddon said Trout was undergoing further evaluation, including an MRI, and the Angels will know more on Tuesday.
“I saw nothing. I looked up and he was limping to the third base bag,” Maddon said. “It was kind of innocuous and I had no idea why. It was hurting him pretty good.”
Ohtani drove Sam Hentges' fastball well above the strike zone into the seats in right-center during a five-run second to give the Angels a 6-1 lead. The Japanese superstar, who hit the go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday at Boston, has gone deep in consecutive games twice this season.
“He might have been looking for it. He is covering the whole zone and doing interesting things at the plate,” Maddon said. “Just keep watching, it is pretty interesting to watch.”
Juan Lagares put the Angels in front earlier in the inning with a two-run double.
Ohtani has six career homers in 12 games against the Indians. That is his second-most against a non-AL West opponent.
Anthony Rendon added three hits for the Angels, who got their 10-game homestand off to a strong start. Tony Watson (2-1), the second of seven Los Angeles pitchers, earned the win and Raisel Iglesias picked up his seventh save.
Cesar Hernandez, Franmil Reyes and Harold Ramirez homered for Cleveland, which has dropped four straight. It was only the second time in 20 games that the Indians lost when scoring four or more runs.
Hentges (1-1) allowed six runs and five hits in 1 2/3 innings.
“His command was tough off the bat. I think he ran the count full on the first six hitters. That’s a hard way to pitch and be successful,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said.
Four relievers combined to throw 6 1/3 innings for the Indians. They gave up only one run on five hits with nine strikeouts.
SANDOVAL FALLS SHORT
Patrick Sandoval was looking good for his first victory as a major league starter, but could not get through five innings.
The left-hander, making his first start of the year, threw 51 pitches in the first four innings before giving up back-to-back singles to open the fifth, which ended his night. Sandoval allowed two runs and six hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
“It was the third time through the lineup and I didn't want to test the waters,” Maddon said. “Maybe under different circumstances if he had been stretched out more. But the way the top three hitters reacted to him the first two times, I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Sandoval's 16-game starting streak without a win to begin his career is the longest to start off any Angels tenure. He has a 1-9 career mark, with his lone victory coming in relief at San Diego last season.
WALSH STILL HOT
Jared Walsh had two hits and is batting .343, fourth in the American League. He had an RBI double in the seventh to extend Los Angeles' lead to 7-3.
Walsh is 14 for 38 with a home run and eight RBIs since he was named the everyday first baseman when Albert Pujols was cut on May 6.
STRONG START
Hernandez belted his 14th career leadoff homer when he drove Sandoval's first pitch to left-center. It was the third time he went deep on the opening pitch of the game.
MORE YARD WORK
Reyes' sixth-inning solo shot traveled 452 feet, the farthest by an opposing hitter at Angel Stadium this season.
Both of Ramirez's homers have come on the Indians' current road trip.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: OF Jordan Luplow sprained his left ankle while running out a grounder in the third inning and was removed from the game.
Angels: Lagares was undergoing evaluation after he injured his toe against the wall in center field while trying to chase down Ramirez's home run. ... David Fletcher (groin) was held out of the lineup for the second straight day, but Maddon doesn't think the second baseman will need to go on the injured list.
UP NEXT
Cleveland right-hander Zach Plesac (3-3, 3.56 ERA) threw a four-hitter in his only matchup against the Angels in 2019. Los Angeles lefty Andrew Heaney (1-3, 4.75) has allowed only two earned runs over 12 innings in his last two home starts.
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