Field Level Media
Apr 20, 2021
The Texas Rangers got 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Kohei Arihara and produced a five-run sixth inning en route to beating the Los Angeles Angels 6-4 on Monday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Arihara, in his first year in the majors after six seasons in the Japanese Pacific League, gave up just two hits, both singles by David Fletcher. He struck out six and walked two.
Arihara (2-1) also got the upper hand against Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, his former teammate with the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Ohtani grounded into a double play in the first inning against Arihara, then was robbed of a home run in the fourth by Rangers center fielder Adolis Garcia, who made a leaping catch, reaching above the wall in center to make the play.
The Angels had two on and two outs in the sixth inning with Ohtani due up, but Rangers manager Chris Woodward pulled the right-hander in favor of lefty Brett Martin, who struck out Ohtani to end the threat.
After giving up a single to Fletcher in the bottom of the first, Arihara didn't allow another hit until Fletcher singled with two out in the sixth.
Angels starter Dylan Bundy (0-2) kept the Rangers scoreless until Garcia led off the third with a home run. It remained 1-0 until the sixth, when Bundy, the bullpen and the defense allowed the Rangers to score five runs and open up a close game.
In the inning, the Rangers got four singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly while benefitting from two Angels errors to go up 6-0. Bundy didn't make it out of the inning, going five-plus innings in all, allowing five runs on seven hits. He struck out six and walked two.
The Angels rallied for four runs in the seventh inning against the Texas bullpen, getting a home run from Justin Upton and RBI singles from Albert Pujols and Kurt Suzuki. Another run scored on a wild pitch.
However, Los Angeles could muster no more offense, with Texas' Ian Kennedy pitching around two hits in the ninth for his fourth save.
Angels center fielder Mike Trout went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, ending his streak of reaching base at 32 games.
--Field Level Media