ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout homered and drove in three runs, and Patrick Sandoval pitched seven innings of two-hit ball Tuesday night as the surging Los Angeles Angels defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 for their third straight victory.
Trout drove a slider from Triston McKenzie (0-2) into the bullpens in left field for a two-run shot in the third inning to give the Angels a 3-0 lead. He was inches from a second home run in the fifth, but the ball hit the wall in the left-field corner for an RBI double to score Shohei Ohtani.
The three-time AL MVP is 14 for 34 during a nine-game hitting streak.
Sandoval — who struck out nine — has not allowed an earned run in three starts this season. The left-hander retired his first six batters before Ernie Clement walked leading off the third and Myles Straw singled with two outs. Sandoval (1-0) then set down 12 straight before Owen Miller lined a single to center with two outs in the seventh.
The Guardians have dropped all five games on their road trip but averted a second consecutive shutout in Anaheim when Straw began the ninth inning with a base hit and scored on José Ramírez's one-out double off Jimmy Herget.
Raisel Iglesias struck out Franmil Reyes and Miller for his fourth save.
McKenzie allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six. The right-hander retired the first four Angels batters before Anthony Rendon hit a one-out double in the second and scored on Brandon Marsh's base hit up the middle.
WEB GEMS
Besides hitting two doubles, Rendon made a nice defensive play in the fifth inning. The third baseman made a diving stop on a sharp grounder hit by Clement and made the throw in time to get him at first.
Cleveland had a pair of great defensive plays. Right fielder Oscar Mercado made a diving play on a sinking line drive by Andrew Velazquez in the seventh inning, and shortstop Amed Rosario made a nice throw from shallow center that Austin Hedges fielded to get Trout out at home. Rosario took the relay throw after Straw chased down Jared Walsh's double at the center-field wall.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Guardians OF Steven Kwan was out of the lineup for the second straight game due to right hamstring tightness.
UP NEXT
Guardians: RHP Zach Plesac (1-1, 1.53) is second in the AL in ERA through three starts. He is 2-0 in his career against the Angels, including a shutout in 2019.
Angels: Ohtani (1-2, 4.40 ERA) carried a perfect game through 5 1/3 innings in his last start at Houston before giving up a single to Jason Castro. He also matched a career high with 12 strikeouts. Ohtani's only previous start against Cleveland was last season, when he allowed two runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings for a no-decision.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
