Sox put up 6 runs in the third, split series with Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Shohei Ohtani's Angels-record 14th homer in June wasn't enough to overcome a 6-run third inning by the Chicago White Sox.
The Japanese superstar broke the team mark for home runs in a month Thursday during the ninth inning of Los Angeles' 9-7 loss with a 2-run shot to left-center off Kendall Graveman's slider.
The White Sox rallied to split the series after dropping the first two games. It is the fourth time this season they have plated at least 6 in an inning.
"I think if you told me you're gonna win two games in a four-game set, I would tell you I'd like to take the last two," manager Pedro Grifol said. "Leaving here 2-2 after dropping the first two games is big for us."
Eloy Jiménez and Zach Remillard provided the key hits in the third with 2-run singles with the bases loaded off Patrick Sandoval (4-7). Yasmani Grandal and Clint Frazier also had RBI hits.
"Responding there early was huge for us. That inning allowed us to cruise the rest of the game," Remillard said.
Lance Lynn (5-8) got his first win since May 26. The right-hander allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and struck out 7 in 6 innings.
"I made three mistakes and they left the ballpark, which usually doesn't happen. But today the offense was able to score runs and it didn't kill us," Lynn said.
Ohtani surpassed his own mark of 13 homers hit in June 2021. He had shared the Angels' record with Mike Trout (July 2019), Albert Pujols (June 2015), Mo Vaughn (May 2000) and Tim Salmon (June 1996).
The homer was Ohtani's fourth in the series and also extended his hitting streak to seven games. On Tuesday, he became the first AL starting pitcher since 1963 to hit 2 home runs and strike out at least 10 in the same game.
He leads the majors with 29 homers and is batting .309.
"That was a pretty good pitch on the outer part of the plate. He wows you every day. It's fun to watch," manager Phil Nevin said.
Mike Trout - who was elected as an AL starter to the All-Star Game for the 10th straight time after the game - provided some highlights of his own with 3 hits. He also made a leaping catch at the wall in center in the fourth inning to rob Andrew Vaughn of a solo shot.
Mickey Moniak, Mike Moustak1s and Hunter Renfroe also homered for the Angels, who were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
The Sox got a pair of insurance runs in the ninth that would end up proving to be necessary; Andrew Vaughn had an RBI triple and scored on Jacob Webb's wild pitch.
Lynn leads big-league starting pitchers with 22 home runs allowed. He is the fourth White Sox pitcher in team history to allow at least that many before the All-Star Game, joining Floyd Bannister (25 in 1987), Reynaldo Lopez (23 in 2019) and James Baldwin (23 in 1999).