ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Shohei Ohtani hit a majestic three-run homer a few hours after he pitched a simulated game. Mike Trout followed Ohtani’s blast two innings later with the first homer of his emotional August.
And those weren’t even the important hits in a wild comeback victory for the Los Angeles Angels.
Eric Young Jr. put the Angels ahead with a two-run single during their five-run eighth inning, and Los Angeles blew a three-run lead before rallying to snap its six-game skid with a 10-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
Ohtani and Trout connected early on a night when the Big A played a bit like Coors Field. After DJ LeMahieu’s first career grand slam put the Rockies up 7-5 in the eighth, the struggling Angels improbably rallied in the bottom of the inning to steal a win from Colorado, which missed the chance to pull into a tie for first place in the NL West.
“Mathematically we’re still in it, but those guys are right in the thick of it,” Young said. “So I know we just don’t want to give it to them, and I’m sure other teams that are in the race also appreciate us going out there and giving it everything we’ve got.”
Trout had an RBI single during a four-run fourth inning by the Angels, driving in his first run of August. Ohtani capped the rally with a huge shot to left-center, the 15th homer of the season by the two-way rookie star.
“Mike Trout always gets on base in front of me, and as long as I can get on base, it can lead to a big inning,” said Ohtani, who added a single in the eighth for his fifth multihit game in August.
Trout added a sixth-inning solo homer, his 31st of the season, in the two-time AL MVP’s fourth game back from a 19-game absence due to an injured right wrist and his brother-in-law’s death.
Moments after LeMahieu’s dramatic homer in the eighth, Los Angeles loaded the bases against Adam Ottavino (6-3) and got a run on Andrelton Simmons’ sacrifice fly. Three batters later, Young capped an eight-pitch at-bat with a two-out, bases-loaded single to center on a full-count pitch from Seunghwan Oh.
The Angels, who sent 11 men to the plate and drew five walks in the eighth, added two insurance runs on Rockies shortstop Trevor Story’s throwing error.
“Getting the big swing from DJ was awesome,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “We sort of gave it back to them with the walks.”
After both bullpens flopped mightily in the eighth inning, Noe Ramirez calmly pitched the ninth without incident for his first career save.
Tony Wolters hit an early homer for the Rockies (71-60), but their bullpen wasted the chance to match the Diamondbacks’ record for the second time in three days. Colorado opened a six-game California road trip by losing for the third time in four games, and for the 11th time in its last 12 interleague meetings with the Angels.
DJ SLAM
LeMahieu doubled and scored in the seventh, and he drove a hanging curveball from Jim Johnson (5-3) into the short porch down the left-field line in the eighth after the Angels’ bullpen walked the bases loaded. The homer was LeMahieu’s 12th of the season, setting a new career high for the veteran second baseman.
10 SHADES OF GRAY
Jon Gray pitched seven-hit ball into the seventh inning, and the Rockies’ late rally prevented him from losing for the first time since June 12. Colorado failed to win for the first time in Gray’s last 10 starts, leaving him even with Ubaldo Jimenez’s run in 2010 for the longest such streak in franchise history.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: Tyler Anderson’s next start will be pushed back while he works on mechanical issues, manager Bud Black said. Anderson is 0-4 with an 11.39 ERA in August, and he got just two outs against St. Louis on Sunday. Gray is likely to take Anderson’s next scheduled start at San Diego on Saturday.
Angels: Ohtani threw 50 pitches over three innings in a simulated game during the afternoon at Angel Stadium. The two-way sensation hasn’t pitched in a real game since June 6, but he would like to return to the mound during Los Angeles’ final 30 games. Manager Mike Scioscia said Ohtani will throw in the bullpen later this week before the Angels determine his next step.
UP NEXT
Rockies: Kyle Freeland (11-7, 2.96 ERA) has never lost in seven career starts against AL teams, posting a 1.81 ERA.
Angels: After the game, Scioscia announced that Ramirez will make his first start of the season after 60 relief appearances. Ramirez will become the first player in Angels history to start the next game after earning a save.
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