Shohei Ohtani allowed two runs over five innings and doubled twice to help the Los Angeles Angels earn a 6-5 win in 10 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of the three-game series on Friday night in Phoenix.
Ohtani struck out eight and walked two and yielded five hits. He also drove in a run, scored another and set up a run in the seventh with his second double off the wall.
Kurt Suzuki had three hits, including a home run, was twice hit by a pitch and drove in two runs for the Angels, who have won a season-high four straight games.
Eduardo Escobar sent the game into extra innings with a two-out, two-strike homer in the ninth for the Diamondbacks, who have lost eight straight.
Arizona starter Merrill Kelly went five innings, allowing three runs and four hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Ryan Buchter (0-1) hit consecutive batters to load the bases with one out in the 10th, and the Angels took a 6-5 lead when Jared Walsh scored on a soft groundout by pinch hitter Max Stassi.
Steve Cishek got the first two outs in the bottom of the 10th before Alex Claudio got the final out with runners on first and second for his first save of the season.
Arizona was down to its final strike when Escobar hit a solo homer, his 15th long ball of the season, off Raisel Iglesias (4-2) to tie the score 5-5.
Ohtani moved to right field in the sixth so he could hit second in the seventh, and he doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs. Justin Upton scored on a two-out wild pitch for a 5-4 lead.
Chris Rodriguez relieved Ohtani to start the sixth and inherited a 4-2 lead, but he gave up two runs without recording an out.
Suzuki led off third with his second home run of the season for a 1-0 Los Angeles lead.
Upton walked with two outs, bringing up Ohtani, who lined a two-strike double into the right-center-field gap to score Upton for a 2-0 lead.
Anthony Rendon followed with a line-drive single up the middle and Ohtani scored to make it 3-0.
Ohtani was called for back-to-back balks in the fifth to bring home Arizona’s first run. Ketel Marte then scored on a dropped third strike with Escobar at the plate to make it 3-2.
Suzuki added an RBI single in the sixth to make it 4-2.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times