Angels Stat of the Day: June 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.
June 30: Angels 11, Yanks 8 -- Ohtani leads off as starting pitcher
Shohei Ohtani not only started on the mound at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, but he also batted leadoff. He became the fourth player to accomplish the feat, joining three others who were position players who pitched and hit leadoff. The others were the Giants' Al Dark on Sept. 27, 1953 (he pitched one inning before moving to third), the Twins' Cesar Tovar on Sept. 22, 1968 (he played all nine positions) and the Giants' Jim Jones on Sept. 30, 1901 (he pitched five innings).
June 29: Yankees 11, Angels 5 -- Ohtani ties a club record
With two homers against the Yankees on Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani reached 13 home runs in June, which is tied for the most in Angels history. The only other Angels players to hit 13 homers in June are Tim Salmon (1996) and Albert Pujols (2015).
June 28: Angels 5, Yankees 3 -- More history from Shohei
Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani smacked his 26th homer of the year on Monday against the Yankees, and it had an exit velocity of 117.2 mph, which is the hardest-hit homer by an Angels player since Statcast was introduced in 2015. It was also his fifth homer this year hit at least 115 mph, which is the most in the Majors.
June 27: Angels 6, Rays 4 -- Ohtani sets club HR record
Shohei Ohtani smacked his 25th homer of the season. The 384-foot shot wasn't his longest, but it was historic: It marked the most home runs through June in Angels history. Mike Trout (2018) and Albert Pujols (2015) held the record with 24.
June 26: Rays 13, Angels 3 -- Can't solve Tampa Bay
Following Saturday's defeat, the Angels have now dropped six straight games to the Rays. This losing streak matches the longest in club history against Tampa Bay (July 28-Aug. 19, 2012).
June 25: Angels 4, Rays 3 -- Ohtani leads it off
Shohei Ohtani crushed his 24th homer of the season and the 71st of his career with a leadoff blast off Rays right-hander Andrew Kittredge. It was Ohtani's first career leadoff homer, as he usually hits second, but he was moved up a spot with Justin Upton on the injured list.
June 23: Giants 9, Angels 3 (13 innings) -- Ohtani and the Babe
Shohei Ohtani made his 11th start and entered the game leading the Majors with 23 homers. He became just the second player in AL/NL history to have more than 20 homers at the plate and make more than 10 starts on the mound in a season, joining Hall of Famer Babe Ruth, who accomplished the feat in 1919.
June 22: Giants 5, Angels 0 -- Heaney keeps stacking up K's
Andrew Heaney struck out 10 over six innings, giving him his third game with at least 10 strikeouts this season and the 14th of his career. He moved past Jered Weaver and is now fourth in club history in games with at least 10 strikeouts, putting him behind only Nolan Ryan (114), Frank Tanana (26) and Chuck Finley (26).
June 20: Tigers 5, Angels 3 (10 innings) -- Two-way treasure
Shohei Ohtani set a career-high with his 23rd homer of the season. It also was the 70th dinger of his career. He joined some rare company, becoming just the fourth player in AL/NL history with at least 70 homers hit and 100 strikeouts on the mound, joining Babe Ruth, Rick Ankiel and Johnny Lindell.
June 19: Angels 8, Tigers 3 -- Ohtani ties career high in homers Shohei Ohtani crushed his 22nd homer of the season against the Tigers on Saturday, which matched his career high set in 2018. But Ohtani needed 104 games to reach 22 homers in '18, while he reached the mark in 66 games this year.
June 18: Angels 11, Tigers 3 -- 20-10 before the All-Star break
Shohei Ohtani joined rare company by hitting his 20th and 21st homers of the season against the Tigers. He joined Mike Trout (2014,'18), Troy Glaus (2000) and Don Baylor (1978, '79) as the only Angels with at least 20 homers and 10 stolen bases before the All-Star break.
June 17: Angels 7, Tigers 5 -- First time for everything
Taylor Ward had come up to the plate seven times with the bases loaded in his career and finally connected on Thursday night against the Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser, crushing a grand slam in the seventh inning. The blast was Ward's first career hit with the bases juiced and provided key insurance runs in the Halos' victory.
June 16: A's 8, Angels 4 -- Shohei shows speed
Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani homered and stole a base against the A's on Wednesday, giving him 19 homers and 10 stolen bases on the year. He joined Trea Turner, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. as the only players to reach double digits in both homers and stolen bases so far this year.
June 15: A's 6, Angels 4 -- Ohtani's laser HR
Shohei Ohtani crushed a solo homer off A's lefty Jesús Luzardo in the eighth inning that had an exit velocity of 115.8 mph and sailed an estimated 429 feet to right field. It was Ohtani's 18th homer of the year and his third with an exit velocity of at least 115 mph, which trails only the Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton (four) this season.
June 14: A's 8, Angels 5 -- Lagares gets on the board
Angels center fielder Juan Lagares hit his first homer of the season with a solo shot to right off A's lefty Sean Manaea. It was his first blast since Sept. 12, 2019, with the Mets, snapping a streak of 50 games without going deep.
June 13: Angels 10, D-backs 3 -- Sandoval finally gets his dub
Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval allowed two runs over six-plus innings against the D-backs to get his first win as a starting pitcher. It snapped a streak of 19 straight starts without a win, which was a club record. He also picked up his first hit as a batter.
June 12: Angels 8, D-backs 7 -- Upton leading the way
Justin Upton drew three walks and scored a run, marking another strong showing out of the leadoff spot for the 33-year-old outfielder. Before May 23, he had never batted in the No. 1 hole in his 15-year MLB career. In 16 games since moving to that spot, he's hitting .310 (18-for-58) with five homers, 11 RBIs, 17 runs scored and 13 walks.
June 11: Angels 6, D-backs 5 (10) -- Never-ending Sho
Shohei Ohtani became the first starting pitcher since at least 1901 to bat in the top four of a lineup at a National League ballpark, as he was in the No. 2 hole for the Halos. Ohtani is also the first player to have an extra-base hit as a pitcher and as a right fielder in the same game since Cleveland's Rocky Colavito (Aug. 13, 1958). Ohtani had an RBI double in the third, and he doubled again in the seventh, after he had moved to right field.
June 9: Angels 6, Royals 1 -- Max red-hot at the plate
Catcher Max Stassi doubled in the eighth inning against the Royals, giving him an extra-base hit in four consecutive games. He became the first Angels catcher to accomplish the feat since Chris Iannetta did it in four straight from April 12-18, 2014.
June 8: Angels 8, Royals 1 -- Ohtani MASHES one
Shohei Ohtani absolutely crushed a two-run homer off Royals lefty Kris Bubic that went a projected 470 feet. It was the longest homer of Ohtani's career and the fifth-longest by an Angels player since Statcast was introduced in 2015, behind four of fellow superstar Mike Trout's blasts.
June 7: Angels 8, Royals 3 -- Ohtani showing patience
After never having a three-walk game at the plate through his first 307 career games, Shohei Ohtani turned in back-to-back games with three walks. He walked three times against the Mariners on Sunday and three more times against the Royals on Monday. The two-way star had only three walks in 97 plate appearances in April.
June 6: Mariners 9, Angels 5 -- Ohtani joins Sisler and himself
Shohei Ohtani stole his eighth base of the season against the Mariners and made more history in the process. It's only the third time in Major League history that a player had at least eight starts on the mound and eight stolen bases in a season. Hall of Famer George Sisler did it in 1915 while Ohtani also did it in 2018.
June 5: Angels 12, Mariners 5 -- Ohtani homers after gem
A night after two-way star Shohei Ohtani struck out 10, he smacked a solo shot off Mariners lefty Yusei Kikuchi. He became the second player to ever accomplish the feat, joining the White Sox Gary Peters, who struck out 10 on July 17, 1964, and then hit a pinch-hit walk-off grand slam in the club's next game on July 19.
June 4: Angels 3, Mariners 2 -- No free passes from Ohtani
Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani did something he's never done before: He didn't issue a walk for the first time in 20 career starts. He also struck out 10 batters for the fourth time in his career to tie a season-high.
June 3: Mariners 6, Angels 2 -- Walsh homers again
Angels first baseman Jared Walsh connected on his 13th homer of the season, giving him 22 blasts since Sept. 4, 2020. It's tied for the most homers in the Majors over that span with Cleveland's José Ramirez.
June 1: Angels 8, Giants 1 -- Rendon racks up RBIs
Anthony Rendon drove in five runs on Tuesday, the first time he's driven in at least five runs in a single game since June 4, 2019.