Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani hit back-to-back home runs, left-hander Tyler Anderson threw six shutout innings and the Los Angeles Angels completed a series win over the host Oakland Athletics with a 6-0 triumph Sunday afternoon.
Logan O’Hoppe completed a six-RBI series with a three-run homer for the Angels, who rebounded from an opening 2-1 defeat to swamp the rebuilding A’s 13-1 and 6-0 over the weekend.
After Ken Waldichuk (0-1) matched zeroes with Anderson (1-0) through three innings, the Angels took the lead for good in the fourth after a leadoff infield single by Hunter Renfroe and one-out walk by Luis Rengifo.
Waldichuk struck out Gio Urshela for a second out, before O’Hoppe, who caught every inning of the series, unleashed his rocket to left-center field for a 3-0 advantage.
Trout and Ohtani did their back-to-back thing in the fourth, with Trout following an inning-opening single by Taylor Ward with his first homer of the season for a 5-0 lead.
One pitch later, Ohtani also recorded his first homer, a blast to right-center to complete the scoring.
The three homers were two more than the Angels had totaled in the first two games of the series. Ward had the visitors’ only homer previously, a two-run shot that capped an 11-run third inning in Saturday’s win.
Making his Angels debut after starring for the crosstown rival Dodgers last season, Anderson sailed through his six innings, allowing four hits and two walks. He struck out four.
Only one of the hits off Anderson went for more than a single as Oakland’s Ramon Laureano lashed just his team’s fourth extra-base hit of the series, a two-out double in the fourth.
Laureano also had Oakland’s only homer of the series, a solo shot that produced the hosts’ only scoring Saturday.
Trout had two shots at a cycle after going double, homer and single in his first three at-bats. But he walked with two on in the sixth before flying to deep center field leading off the ninth.
He finished with three hits, as did Ward, who went 7-for-14 in the series.
Waldichuk was pulled after 5 2/3 innings, charged with six runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Jesus Aguilar and Shea Langeliers had two hits apiece for Oakland, which was out-hit 11-5.
–Field Level Media