Angels Stat of the Day: Sept./Oct. 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Angels this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

• Angels Stat of the Day, August 2021

Oct. 3: Angels 7, Mariners 3 -- Working around Shohei
Shohei Ohtani hit his 46th homer of the year and was also intentionally walked twice in the Angels' season finale. He led the American League with 20 intentional free passes, which is the most by an AL player since Mike Trout in 2018. The last AL players before Trout to be intentionally walked at least 20 times were David Ortiz, Victor Martinez and Robinson Canó in 2014.

Oct. 2: Mariners 6, Angels 4 -- Ohtani passes Fukudome
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani drew two walks against the Mariners to give him 94 in 154 games this season. That total is the most by a Japanese-born player in a single season, topping Kosuke Fukudome (93 walks, 2009).

Oct. 1: Angels 2, Mariners 1 -- Raisel locks it down
Closer Raisel Iglesias pitched around a leadoff double to record his 34th save of the season, tying a career high that he set with the Reds in 2019. The Angels also improved to 66-0 when leading after the eighth inning this year.

Sept. 30: Rangers 7, Angels 6 -- Ohtani triples into history
Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani hit his eighth triple on Thursday against the Rangers, which ties him for the Major League lead with Arizona's David Peralta. Ohtani became the first player with at least 45 homers and eight triples in a season since Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt in 1980. The only other American League players to accomplish this feat are fellow Hall of Famers Jim Rice, Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.

Sept. 29: Angels 7, Rangers 2 -- History in making
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani joined some rare company, as he stole his 25th base of the season and became just the second player in American League history to record 45 homers and 25 stolen bases in a season. He joined Jose Canseco, who hit 46 homers and stole 29 bases with the Blue Jays in 1998.

Sept. 28: Rangers 5, Angels 2 -- Wantz deals vs. Rangers
Andrew Wantz had a strong showing against the Rangers, throwing a career-high 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief. He gave up one hit, didn't walk a batter and tied a career best by striking out four.

Sept. 26: Mariners 5, Angels 1 -- Shohei at The Big A
Shohei Ohtani threw seven strong innings, striking out 10 and allowing one run on five hits. He went unbeaten at home in 2021, going 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA in 13 starts. He's only the sixth starter in AL or NL history to make at least 13 home starts without a losing decision and an ERA below 2.00 in a season (excluding openers). He joins Dallas Keuchel (2015), José Fernández (2013), Kenny Rogers (1998), Orel Hershiser (1985) and Tex Hughson (1944).

Sept. 25: Angels 14, Mariners 1 -- Ohtani joins Mays
Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani ripped an RBI triple in the first inning, giving him six triples on the year. He is just the second player in AL/NL history to have at least 45 homers, 20 stolen bases and six triples in a season, joining Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who hit 51 homers, stole 24 bases and hit 13 triples in 1955. Ohtani also tripled in the third, becoming the first Angels player to triple in consecutive plate appearances in a game since Peter Bourjos on April 26, 2011, against Oakland.

Sept. 24: Mariners 6, Angels 5 -- Shohei walks this way
After walking four times on Wednesday and three times on Thursday, two-way star Shohei Ohtani drew four more walks in the series opener against the Mariners. Those 11 walks tied Bryce Harper (2016) for the MLB record for free passes in a three-game span. The Angels' record was eight walks in three games -- Mike Trout (2018), Bobby Abreu (2009) and Albie Pearson (1961).

Sept. 23: Angels 3, Astros 2 -- Iglesias hits 100 K's
Angels closer Raisel Iglesias notched his 33rd save of the season in the finale vs. the Astros, striking out three batters to reach 100 on the season. He became the first Angels pitcher to record 100 strikeouts in relief since Francisco Rodriguez (133) and Scot Shields (109) both reached the mark in 2004. Iglesias is a major reason why the Angels are 63-0 when leading after eight innings this year.

Sept. 22: Astros 9, Angels 5 (12 innings) -- Ohtani takes a walk
A day after hitting his 45th homer, two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani set a career high by walking four times against the Astros. Two of those walks were intentional, as it was clear the Astros wanted to avoid Ohtani.

Sept. 21: Astros 10, Angels 5 -- Rocky times at The Big A
The Halos have now dropped seven straight home games, which is their longest losing streak at Angel Stadium since April 3-13, 2002, when they also lost seven in a row.

Sept. 20: Astros 10, Angels 0 -- Angels fall to six games under .500
With their loss to the Astros in the series opener, the Angels dropped to six games under .500 for the first time since June 3 (25-31). They've already matched the club record of being exactly .500 on 26 occasions and will have to climb back to .500 to set the franchise mark.

Sept. 19: Athletics 3, Angels 2 (10) -- A pitching first for Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani had made 33 career starts without issuing an intentional walk, but did it twice on Sunday against the A's Matt Olson. The slugger was issued free passes in both the third and eighth innings, and neither walk did any damage -- as the only runs allowed by Ohtani came on solo homers from Yan Gomes and Matt Chapman.

Sept. 18: Athletics 3, Angels 1 -- 36th multihit game for Sho
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-4 with two singles against the A's, giving him his 36th multihit game of the year. Such performances have been hard to come by recently for Ohtani, as it was just his third multihit game over his last 24 games, dating back to Aug. 20. But it was an encouraging sign to see both of Ohtani's hits be of the opposite-field variety, landing in left field.

Sept. 17: Athletics 5, Angels 4 -- Diaz's debut extends record
Lefty Jhonathan Diaz started for the Angels on Friday against the A's, becoming the club's 63rd player used this season. His appearance extended a franchise record for the 2021 club, as the previous high was 60 players, in 2018. Diaz went 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, with four walks, two strikeouts and a hit by pitch.

Sept. 16: Angels 9, White Sox 3 -- Cobb adds to collection
After throwing five scoreless innings, Alex Cobb finally picked up his first victory over the White Sox after coming into the game 0-3 in four career starts. Now that he has that 'W' under his belt, Cobb has beaten all but one American League team -- Tampa Bay, where he started his career -- at least once in his 10 seasons.

Sept. 15: Angels 3, White Sox 2 -- 101 mph fastball? No big deal
Facing a full count against White Sox flamethrower Michael Kopech in the top of the eighth, Brandon Marsh rocketed a 100.8 mph four-seamer over the left-center-field wall for what was ultimately the game-winning homer. Astonishingly, the fastball from Kopech was the fastest pitch to be hit for a home run by an American League hitter this season. MLB.com’s Sarah Langs also notes it was the fastest pitch that an Angels player has homered off of in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008).

Sept. 14: White Sox 9, Angels 3 -- Walsh extends the streak
In a way, it can be argued that Jared Walsh is the hottest hitter in the Majors. With his fourth-inning homer, Walsh extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the Majors (he's also two games away from tying his career-high). During the streak, Walsh owns a .386 average, has hit five doubles, four home runs and driven in 11 runs.

Sept. 12: Astros 3, Angels 1 -- Juan gone
Juan Lagares crushed a solo homer off Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. for his sixth of the season. That ties a career high for Lagares, who hit six in 143 games with the Mets in 2015. This time around, it only took him 97 games.

Sept. 11: Angels 4, Astros 2 -- Rengifo off to a hot September
Infielder Luis Rengifo was brought up as a September callup and has fared well offensively, including hitting a two-run homer against the Astros on Saturday. It was Rengifo's second homer over his last three games, and he also went 2-for-2 on Friday. He's hitting .333 (6-for-18) with two homers in six games in September after batting .151 with two homers through his first 28 games of the season.

Sept. 10: Astros 10, Angels 5 -- A first-inning blast ... and a loss
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani gave himself the lead before he even took the mound, as he connected on a solo shot in the first inning off lefty Framber Valdez. It was his Major League-leading 44th homer of the year but just his third while serving as a pitcher this season. He also homered in his starts against the White Sox on April 4 and against the Tigers on Aug. 18. He became the first player in the modern era (since 1900) to homer in the first inning and be the losing pitcher in the same game, per STATS.

Sept. 8: Padres 8, Angels 5 -- 40-man roster? Keep counting
Right-handed reliever Oliver Ortega made his Major League debut in the sixth inning. He became the 62nd player used by the Angels this season, which extends a club record. The previous high was 60 players in 2018.

Sept. 7: Angels 4, Padres 0 -- Packy stingy vs. Padres
It was lost in the shuffle of the Angels breaking up Blake Snell's perfect game bid in the seventh in a win over the Padres, but lefty Packy Naughton was a major reason why they were still in the game. Naughton, making his fourth career appearance and second start, threw a career-high five scoreless innings with five strikeouts in a no-decision.

Sept. 6: Rangers 4, Angels 0 -- Adell smokes one
A day after going 3-for-3 with two homers and a walk, Jo Adell ripped a single against the Rangers that had an exit velocity of 113.4 mph, which is tied for his hardest-hit ball this season. He also had a 113.4 mph double off Dodgers ace Walker Buehler on Aug. 8, and his career best is a single with an exit velocity of 115.5 mph off L.A. lefty Scott Alexander on Aug. 16, 2020.

Sept. 5: Rangers 7, Angels 3 -- Tyler makes history
The Angels gave right-handers Janson Junk and Kyle Tyler their Major League debuts against the Rangers. Tyler became the club's 61st player used this season, which broke the team record of 60 from the 2018 campaign.

Sept. 4: Angels 4, Rangers 1 -- Suarez's career night
Lefty José Suarez, who had never pitched deeper than 5 2/3 innings in any of his 26 career starts, threw a complete game against the Rangers. He needed just 100 pitches to give the Angels their first complete game since Dylan Bundy on Aug. 6, 2020, against the Mariners.

Sept. 3: Angels 3, Rangers 2 -- Ohtani throws 100 mph
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani hadn't thrown a pitch harder than 100 mph since his first start of the year against the White Sox, but topped that mark twice against the Rangers. Ohtani struck out Jason Martin on a 100.4 mph fastball with two runners in scoring position in the fourth. And then threw a 100.5 mph fastball to Leody Taveras two pitches later before getting him to ground out on a 99.5 mph fastball to end the inning.

Sept. 1: Yankees 4, Angels 1 -- Halos can't solve Cole
The Angels had a tough time against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who struck out 15 batters over seven strong innings. It was only the 13th time in Halos history that they struck out at least 15 times against a pitcher in a game. The previous time came on June 2, 2015, when Tampa Bay's Chris Archer had 15 strikeouts over eight innings.