Bats come alive! Astros destroy Shohei Ohtani

On a night of big hits at Minute Maid Park, the Astros got the best part to come out with a 10-5 win against the Angels. They got 16 hits en route to the victory, including nine off starter Shohei Ohtani, who lasted only 3 1/3 innings on the mound but he also hit a moonshot for his 44th home run of the year.

Despite that Ohtani retired the Astros lineup for the first two innings of the game without any problem, the Astros ambushed him and the Angels’ relievers with two rallies: a three-run third and a six-run fourth. That was enough to get the well-needed win and keep their lead intact in the AL West Division.

Even though the Astros didn’t hit any home runs, their lineup was lethal on Friday night. Everyone on the offensive order got at least a hit, with José Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Alex Bregman getting three each. Additionally, Bregman recorded four runs batted in and is officially on fire since returning from the injured list, with 19 hits across 47 at-bats and 11 ribbies over 13 games.

Michael Brantley also registered two hits in five trips to the plate and left his batting average at .316, third-best mark in the American League behind Starling Marté (.321) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.318). The winning run was produced by a two-run double from Bregman in the bottom fourth to make it 6-4.

The Astros kept their steady dominance at home, where they have the third-best record in the American League. They’re now 6-2 against the Angels this season in front of their fans at Minute Maid Park.

In pitching terms, Framber Valdez wasn’t sharp, but still got his 10th win of the year (10-5), going five episodes of six-hit, five-run ball. He surrendered five walks, struck out six, and allowed two four-baggers. After Valdez, Phil Maton, Brooks Raley, Ryne Stanek combined for four shutout frames with no walks and four punchouts.

On Saturday, September 11, rookie Luis García will step on the mound to face José Suárez on the second game of the series. García is 6-3 with a 1.83 ERA across 13 appearances at home (69 innings). The game starts at 6:10 pm CT.

VIDEOS AND BOX SCORE HERE.