Field Level Media
Jul 7, 2021
Shohei Ohtani pitched seven strong innings, David Fletcher had four hits to extend his hitting streak to 20 games and the host Los Angeles Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 5-3 on Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Ohtani (4-1) gave up two runs on five hits while making 89 pitches, striking out four and walking none. At the plate, he went 1-for-4 with an RBI double.
Fletcher had two doubles and two singles, drove in a run and scored while extending his career-best hitting streak. During the 20 games, Fletcher is hitting .413 (33-for-80). The Angels' record is 28 in a row, set by Garret Anderson in 1998.
Angels catcher Max Stassi also had a big day at the plate, coming a triple shy of the cycle. He had a two-run homer in the first inning, a double in the third and a single in the sixth.
Angels reliever Mike Mayers pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 17th save, though he gave up a solo homer to Hunter Renfroe.
The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead against Ohtani and the Angels in the first inning when Enrique Hernandez led off with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored on J.D. Martinez's sacrifice fly.
The Angels responded against Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi with three runs in the bottom of the first, for a 3-1 lead. Fletcher led off with a double and scored on Ohtani's double.
Eovaldi (9-5) struck out both Jared Walsh and Phil Gosselin for the first two outs of the inning, but Stassi worked the count full before hitting a two-run homer.
Both Ohtani and Eovaldi settled in from there, neither giving up another run until the sixth. Martinez had a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth off Ohtani, cutting the Angels' lead to 3-2.
But the Red Sox missed a chance to go ahead when Angels center fielder Juan Lagares robbed Xander Bogaerts of a two-run homer, reaching above the yellow line in right-center to make the catch.
The Angels knocked Eovaldi out of the game in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two runs to go up 5-2. Gosselin led off with a double, went to third on a single by Stassi and scored on Jose Iglesias' groundout.
Later in the inning, Fletcher's infield single with the bases loaded drove home another run.
--Field Level Media