Trout hits 10th HR, Ohtani shaky, Angels beat Astros 8-7
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
HOUSTON (AP) _ Mike Trout hit his major league-leading 10th homer and the Los Angeles Angels overcame another shaky start by Shohei Ohtani to beat the Houston Astros 8-7 Tuesday night, tying a team record with their 11th straight road win.
Andrelton Simmons homered twice with a career-high five RBIs, connecting for a tiebreaking, three-run drive in the seventh inning. The Angels also won 11 in a row outside Anaheim in 1988.
Ohtani yielded four runs on six hits and five walks in 5 1/3 innings. The two-way star from Japan was tagged by Boston in his previous start and left after two innings because of a blister problem.
Ohtani struck out seven and has fanned 26 this year, a record for an Angels pitcher after the first four career games of his career.
The Angels jumped on Charlie Morton early to build a 4-1 lead. Derek Fisher hit a two-run homer for Houston in the fifth off Ohtani and Brian McCann added a two-run homer off Jose Alvarez in the sixth to put the Astros ahead.
There were runners at first and second with two outs in the seventh when Albert Pujols snapped an 0-for-7 slide with an RBI single to tie it at 5. Simmons then sent a pitch from Joe Smith (1-1) to the train tracks atop left field for fourth career multihomer game.
Alex Bregman hit an RBI single off Jim Johnson (2-0) in the seventh and Marwin Gonzalez added a run-scoring single off Justin Anderson to cut the lead to 8-7 with one out in the inning. But Anderson retired the next two batters to wriggle out of a bases-loaded jam and preserve the lead.
Cam Bedrosian walked one in a scoreless ninth for his first save.
Morton, who entered the game leading the American League with a 0.72 ERA, allowed five hits and a season-high four runs, while walking a season-most five in four-plus innings.
Bregman doubled with two outs in the second and Houston cut the lead to 2-1 when he scored on a single by Gonzalez.
Morton, who had only walked six batters in his first four starts combined, loaded the bases on three straight walks to start the third inning. Justin Upton followed with an RBI single on a high chopper to push the lead to 3-1.
Simmons singled with one out on a grounder to third base to send another run home and leave Los Angeles up 4-1.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: Simmons returned after sitting out on Monday after being hit with a pitch on the forearm in Sunday’s game.
UP NEXT
Angels: Nick Tropeano (1-1, 3.75 ERA) will start in the series finale on Wednesday, looking to bounce back after allowing seven hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings of a loss to Boston in his last outing.
Astros: Justin Verlander (3-0, 1.10) looks to extend his regular-season winning streak to 11 games when he starts on Wednesday. Verlander allowed two hits in six scoreless innings of a win over the White Sox in his last outing.
Lowrie, A’s beat Rangers 3-2 as Beltre leaves with injury
By SCHUYLER DIXON
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Jed Lowrie hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 on Tuesday night, tagging Cole Hamels with his fourth loss before the end of April for the first time in the left-hander’s career.
Texas slugger Adrian Beltre exited with a left hamstring strain in the eighth after pulling up at first base on what would have been a double but was instead a single for his 3,075th career hit.
Lowrie’s liner over the glove of diving center fielder Delino DeShields came against reliever Matt Bush after two doubles off Hamels in an inning that included a pair of Oakland baserunners getting thrown out at third base.
Andrew Triggs (2-0) allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts, and former closer Santiago Casilla pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save.
Oakland rookie Lou Trivino struck out two batters to finish the eighth after coming in cold when Blake Treinen took a line drive from Shin-Soo Choo off his right leg and had to leave the game.
Trivino was called up from Triple-A Nashville earlier in the day when Yusmeiro Petit went on the bereavement list following the death of his mother in Venezuela. Petit was away from the team for four days earlier this month to spend time with his mom.
Hamels (1-4) gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings and plunked three batters, matching the 2008 World Series MVP’s career high set on April 20, 2016, in a 2-1 win against Houston. Rangers reliever Jake Diekman also hit a batter with a pitch.
The Rangers clinched their fifth straight series loss at home, the most to start a season since the franchise moved to Texas in 1972.
Mark Canha broke a scoreless tie in the sixth with his third homer, a solo shot that went in and out of leaping right fielder Nomar Mazara’s glove just above the fence. Matt Olson hit an RBI double in the eighth.
Beltre’s liner to the gap when he was injured was a single that scored Choo from first. The 39-year-old in his 21st season limped to first and went immediately to the dugout. Beltre had two hits and both Texas RBIs, driving in the first run on a sacrifice fly.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: RHP Liam Hendriks was to have a procedure to remove a cyst in his right hip, with a plasma injection for a muscle tear. Hendriks was already on the disabled list because of a right groin strain. He should be throwing off a mound in a few weeks.
Rangers: RHPs Tony Barnette (right shoulder inflammation) and Tim Lincecum (blister) threw live bullpen sessions. Manager Jeff Banister said Barnette probably won’t return before Friday. Lincecum is on the 60-day DL.
UP NEXT
RHP Kendall Graveman (0-4, 10.07 ERA), Oakland’s opening day starter, has allowed at least four runs without throwing more than five innings in all five starts, the longest such streak to start a season for an A’s pitcher since at least 1908. RHP Doug Fister (1-2, 3.59) is scheduled for Texas in the series finale as he returns from a right hip strain. His most recent start was April 9.