The sensational two-way baseball talents of Shohei Ohtani came to the rescue on Thursday night, snapping the Los Angeles Angels‘ franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
One night after the Angels turned to Nickelback for help (and were shut out, 1-0), Ohtani was superb on the mound and hit a two-run homer at the plate to lead the Halos to a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Ohtani allowed one run over seven innings and was touching 101 mph with his fastball.
101 mph from Shohei Ohtani! ⚾️🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/PSUgpOZy5W
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 10, 2022
Pitch No. 100 for Shohei Ohtani is a strikeout, giving him seven strong innings. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/sZo3CG2yot
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 10, 2022
And in the bottom of the fifth inning, Ohtani crushed a two-run homer to left-center field to give the Angels a 2-1 lead.
Shohei Ohtani can hit, too.
Along with throwing 101 mph on the mound tonight, he’s hit a go-ahead 2-run homer!
Ohtani is doing his best to will the Angels to snapping their 14-game losing streak. pic.twitter.com/ZAeYsmOaCp
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 10, 2022
Andrew Velazquez extended the Angels’ lead with a three-run blast in the bottom of the sixth.
Hey, the Angels actually have a 4-run lead. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/Uf0WCZ7Krh
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 10, 2022
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Angels closer Raisel Iglesias shut the door for the save.
🚨THE ANGELS WIN A BASEBALL GAME🚨 pic.twitter.com/s8k71csRrL
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 10, 2022
THE STREAK IS FINALLY OVER
LET IT BE KNOWN THAT NO ONE DEFEATS THE LOS ANGELES ANGELS 15 TIMES IN A ROW pic.twitter.com/UND24JqwFs
— Kyle Kishimoto (@kylemoto10) June 10, 2022
Before the losing streak started, the Angels had a very good record of 27-17. 14 games, later, the Angels were 27-31.
Now, they’re 28-31, and still very much alive in the AL playoff race. The win over the Red Sox actually helps a lot there too; the Angels are 2.5 games back of Boston for the third AL Wild Card slot.
The losing streak featured Joe Maddon getting fired, Phil Nevin becoming interim manager (Thursday night is his first win as manager), and Mike Trout getting injured.
Here’s a look at how the baseball world is reacting to Ohtani’s performance and the Angels’ streak-snapping win:
what if we just, like, never lost again 👉👈 pic.twitter.com/lz9W6IqkHi
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) June 10, 2022
Shohei never ceases to amaze. pic.twitter.com/TL6Epd1nYw
— MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2022
#Angels Shohei Ohtani is the first pitcher to hit a go-ahead homer while his team was trailing this late in a game since Noah Syndergaard for the Mets on May 11, 2016 at Dodgers (off Kenta Maeda).
Last time in an AL game was Royals Jim Rooker (July 7, 1969 at MIN, off Jim Kaat) https://t.co/YDnU9irJEF
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) June 10, 2022
Shohei Ohtani has said he prefers hitting when he pitches because he doesn't feel as much pressure on the mound when he knows he can provide his own run-support.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) June 10, 2022
The last time a team snapped a 14+ game losing streak was last year on August 25 when the Orioles snapped a 19-game skid.
The opposing starting pitcher?
Shohei Ohtani
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 10, 2022
Ohtani 7th-inning strikeouts
98.4 mph 4-seamer, 91.2 mph splitterAnd he's into it pic.twitter.com/wvXctWsB1G
— David Adler (@_dadler) June 10, 2022
The Angels after finally ending their 14-game losing streak: pic.twitter.com/iStISVu0GI
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) June 10, 2022
Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
The Angels finally won a game
Things are never gonna be the same
They lost 14 in a row
And in the middle got rid of Joe
All they needed was a tank from Squid
And for Shohei to shove, he did
Now, please, come back Kiiiiiid— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 10, 2022
