Ohtani Sparkle With Records As The Los Angeles Angels Hold Onto A "MIRACLE"

The Los Angeles Angels look to be breaking out of their protracted slump in recent days thanks to much-improved performances from colleagues of Shohei Ohtani on the mound and with the bat.

The New York Yankees‘ plight appears to have no end in sight. Tuesday night, the Angels defeated the Yankees 5-1 thanks to an RBI triple from Ohtani, a two-run homer from Mickey Moniak, and a two-hit ball from Patrick Sandoval into the eighth inning.

The Angels, who had won three straight following a 1-10 slump, were led by Moniak, who had three hits—one more than the Yankees—and three runs batted in. Los Angeles is back at.500 and trying to advance far enough in the AL playoff race to warrant retaining Ohtani over the Aug. 1 trade deadline with its first series victory since June 16–18 against Kansas City.

About his first-inning home run, Moniak remarked.

“It was (great) to be able to do something to get us a lead early, and then Sandy was lights out, and it turned out that’s all we needed.” “With the talent that we have in our lineup, I like our odds.”

Although Ohtani’s career-high string of three consecutive games with a home run stopped, the two-way superstar and major league home run leader still scored Zach Neto from first base with his big league-high eighth triple in the fifth.

In his first start in 13 days, Sandoval (5-7) outpitched Domingo Germán (5-6) and struck out 22 of the 27 hitters faced by New York. He mixed his breaking pitches and changeup almost perfectly.

Sandoval received a standing ovation as he departed the mound after pitching the longest start for the Angels in three weeks with seven strikeouts.

“It’s awesome to watch the lineup get to Germán like that, and then just go out there and do my job.”
Patrick Sandoval

Up until Anthony Volpe’s one-out single finally got rid of Sandoval, Gleyber Torres‘ third-inning home run was the sole hit for New York. The Yankees have lost both series since the break, going 1-4 on their trip.

“Sandoval was dominating us.”
“He was definitely sharp, but we’ve got to do better. … We just weren’t able to really get much of the barrel on the ball enough.”
Manager Aaron Boone

In Aaron Judge‘s extended absence, the Yankees’ offensive problems don’t appear to be getting any better. Since the AL MVP was injured early last month, New York has gone from 15 to 21 while scoring two runs or fewer for the 14th time in that span.

Their two hits equaled a season low. The big league’s worst hitter is New York—217 since Judge’s accident at Dodger Stadium.

“There’s no quit in it.”
“We’ve got really good players and a lot of guys that are going through a tough stretch—for some, probably as tough a stretch as they’ve had in their career. You don’t take your ball and go home. You stick your nose in there and grind it out. We’re doing that. They’re not leaving any stone unturned. It’s not from a lack of work, focus, or conversations.”
Aaron Boone

For the third time in his previous four outings, Germán had nine strikeouts but also gave up five runs on four hits and three walks. With his 11th home run of a stellar season, Moniak increased his career-long hitting streak to ten games in the first inning.

In addition, Moniak’s home run brought the Angels’ team winning streak to 17, just one short of the club record established in August 1982.

In the third, Torres hit his 14th home run. Ohtani drew the Angels’ third straight walk to put runners on base, but Germán only gave up one run when Michael Stefanic scored on a wild pitch.