Tim Anderson and José Abreu singled within the first inning for the Chicago White Sox in opposition to Shohei Ohtani.
Anderson reached third and Abreu second on a wild pitch. But the Los Angeles Angels two-way star struck out Gavin Sheets to finish the risk.
The Sox had one other huge alternative within the fourth, loading the bases. But Ohtani struck out Josh Harrison for the third out.
The Sox made Ohtani work however they couldn’t money in Wednesday, falling 4-1 in entrance of 27,612 at Angel Stadium.
“We didn’t put the ball in play enough,” Sox supervisor Tony La Russa stated. “That’s to their credit. Their pitching was good.”
The Sox struck out 15 instances as they dropped the rubber match of the three-game collection.
“We got it going, just key times they made a pitch and we didn’t put it in play,” La Russa stated.
Wednesday was billed as a showcase pitching matchup between Sox starter Michael Kopech and Ohtani. And each had numbers adequate to win.
“Obviously he’s a superstar,” Kopech stated of Ohtani. “We need to be ready coming into that on each side of the ball with a man like that. And for essentially the most half, I used to be in a position to keep answerable for that and work counts with him (Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a stroll). I won’t have been as environment friendly as I’d have favored, however I used to be in a position to keep within the driver’s seat with him there.
“He did a great job on the mound tonight. Kind of answered all of his own problems or his team’s own problems that they may have struggled with offensively, and they had a couple of big hits and came through for him. It’s quite a matchup like that, but I would like to see my best stuff on a day like that.”
Kopech allowed 4 runs, three earned, on 5 hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 5⅓ innings.
“It was kind of a grind,” he stated. “I began off making a couple of errors that acquired taken benefit of. And then towards the top the place I actually wanted to bear down and make some robust pitches, didn’t make these pitches and I acquired taken benefit of. I’ve acquired to do a greater job of placing us in management and being within the driver’s seat slightly bit.
“I’ve been putting the team in a position where we have to fight all night long, and I can’t continue to do that.”
Ohtani gave up 5 hits, struck out 11 and walked one in 5⅔ scoreless innings.
“I thought we worked the at-bats,” La Russa stated. “And then we did a better job of making the at-bats go longer. But he’s got weapons. He’s for real.”
The first two Angels batters scored within the first. Taylor Ward singled and Mike Trout drove him in with a double.
With runners on first and second, Jared Walsh hit a grounder to Abreu. The first baseman threw to second to get an out, however the return throw acquired previous Kopech as he tried to time getting the ball and the bag. Trout scored on the sequence, making it 2-0.
Luis Robert and Abreu singled to start the fourth. Sheets hit the ball laborious, however Trout made a operating catch in heart for the primary out. Ohtani struck out AJ Pollock however walked Leury García to load the bases.
Ohtani then struck out Harrison on 5 pitches.
Abreu collected his third of 4 hits, a one-out single, within the sixth. Ohtani struck out Sheets and exited, having thrown 108 pitches. Pollock singled in opposition to reliever José Quijada, however Leury García hit a comebacker to the mound to finish the inning.
The Angels prolonged the lead with a two-run homer by Luis Rengifo within the backside of the sixth. Kopech exited after 99 pitches.
“I was talking to Lance (Lynn) a little after my outing and he said it best: The days you don’t have your best stuff and you’re able to grind through five or six and limit damage, that’s what pitching is about,” Kopech stated. “Not when you do have your best stuff, things are going easy. You would like to have that every time, but it’s a difficult time and we face really good players.”
The Sox scored on a wild pitch within the eighth, however that will be all for the offense. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring place.
“Sometimes you strike out that many times and you didn’t do a good job,” La Russa stated. “But we did a good job of prolonging at-bats, we had opportunities and they made the pitch to get the outs. Tip your cap to the other side.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com