Ohtani strikes out 9 as Angels end skid

Shohei Ohtani delivered another Sunday afternoon gem, striking out nine in 7 2/3 solid innings as the Los Angeles Angels snapped a five-game skid with a 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Japanese two-way sensation was again impressive on the mound, giving up two runs on six hits before departing in the eighth inning. Ohtani, 23, became the third American League player since 1908 to record six or more strikeouts in six of his first seven career games as a pitcher, joining the Cleveland Indians Herb Score (1955) and the New York Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka (2014). Ohtani needed 20 pitches to get through the first inning. He gave up a double in the second and a first-pitch home run to Johnny Field in the third. From there, he retired 12 straight Rays batters. He gave up two singles and two fly balls to the warning track in the seventh, and he was pulled after giving up his second hit if the eighth. Ohtani's 110 pitches were seven more than his last outing. He improved to 4-1 with a 3.35 earned-run-average. The Angels put up their five runs on four hits, taking advantage of seven walks to provide enough backing for Ohtani. "It's huge that we got out of this losing streak and personally I got the win, so it was a really good game," Ohtani said. Rookie Justin Anderson got he final out of the eighth, and then Blake Parker worked the ninth. Parker, who began the season as the Angels closer, may have worked his way back into that role with improved results in the past few weeks. Ohtani, who starred with the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan League, has impressed since arriving Stateside aiming to become the Major Leagues' first slugger-pitcher since legend Babe Ruth's heyday a century ago. At the plate he's averaging .321 with six home runs and 17 runs-batted-in.