Shohei Ohtani hits MLB-leading 39th home run in Angels' loss
(Steve Russell / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
July 28, 2023 7:15 PM PT
TORONTO —
Lucas Giolito’s Angels debut wasn’t a smooth one.
Taking the mound two days after he was acquired by the Angels in a deal with the Chicago White Sox, Giolito didn’t get much help from the Angels — just a solo home run from Shohei Ohtani in the first inning.
Despite Ohtani’s MLB-leading 39th home run of the season, the Angels lost to the Blue Jays 4-1 at Rogers Centre on Friday in the opener of a crucial three-game series, dropping four games behind Toronto for the final wild-card spot in the American League.
Giolito was efficient through his first five innings. He gave up solo home runs in the second and third innings. After giving up a couple of singles in the third, he retired the next eight batters.
Giolito ran into trouble in the sixth, with Toronto loading the bases after an Andrew Velazquez fielding error. He left the game after giving up three earned runs and six hits while intentionally walking one and striking out five.
While Ohtani’s home run was the highlight for the Angels, the two-way star exited before his final at-bat because of cramping in his lower legs, Angels manager Phil Nevin said. He will be re-evaluated Saturday.
Ohtani’s replacement, Michael Stefanic, took a called third strike for the second out in the ninth, prompting Nevin to yell at plate umpire Mike Estabrook. Nevin got into a brief confrontation with Estabrook in the dugout after the game and had to be held back by Angels coaches.
Sarah Valenzuela is the Angels beat writer for the Los Angeles Times. She previously worked at the New York Daily News, where she covered the New York Liberty and contributed to coverage of the New York Mets and New York Yankees. Before that, the Queens native was a freelancer with bylines in Thrillist and Self Magazine, worked as a production assistant with SNY-TV and MLB.com and briefly was a general assignment reporter for the Bronx Times. Valenzuela graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications.
