Drury, Ohtani Lead Angels to 11–3 Victory Over Skidding A’s

Los Angeles Angels second baseman Brandon Drury makes stop on a ball hit for a single by Oakland Athletics' Esteury Ruiz during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., on April 26, 2023 Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo

ANAHEIM, Calif.—Brandon Drury homered, doubled and drove in three runs, and Shohei Ohtani hit a late two-run homer in the Los Angeles Angels’ 11–3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, April 26.

Hunter Renfroe also homered and Ohtani drove in three runs for Los Angeles, which has won four of six. Oakland became the fifth team in major league history to lose 20 games in April.

Drury, Matt Thaiss and Zach Neto had run-scoring doubles in the Angels’ five-run second inning against Oakland’s Luis Medina (0–1), who gave up seven earned runs and eight hits over five innings in his major league debut.

Patrick Sandoval (2–1) became the only Angels starter other than Ohtani to last seven innings in a game this season, yielding six hits and two earned runs.

Shohei Ohtani (17) of the Los Angeles Angels celebrates his two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif., on April 26, 2023. Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

Kevin Smith hit his second homer of the series for the A’s, who have lost 11 of 13. The April record is 22 losses by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, and Oakland still has four games to play before May.

Esteury Ruiz had two hits and drove in a run while stealing four bases for Oakland, becoming only the third A’s player to swipe that many bags in the past 30 years.

Medina is a former Yankees prospect acquired by Oakland last year, and the 23-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic got the call to the majors Tuesday after only three Triple-A starts.

His fastball touched 99.9 mph in a clean first inning at the Big A, but the Angels batted around in the second. Thaiss had a two-run double among Los Angeles’ five hits.

Renfroe then led off the third with his seventh homer in April, the most in a single month in his career.

Drury hit a two-run homer in the fifth to put Los Angeles up 8–3. The utility infielder started slowly with his new team, but he is 7 for 13 with three homers and nine RBIs in the first three games against Oakland.

Ohtani tacked on his sixth homer in the eighth inning.

Shintaro Fujinami pitched two innings of two-hit relief for Oakland in his first appearance since being moved to the bullpen Monday.

Swiping Bags

Ruiz singled on Sandoval’s opening pitch before stealing second, advancing on catcher Thaiss’ throwing error and scoring on Brent Rooker’s groundout. Ruiz then stole second and third in the third inning after getting hit by a pitch, but couldn’t score. He also stole second in the fifth inning before getting stranded again.

Trainer’s Room

Athletics: OF Ramón Laureano went to Las Vegas to begin rehab for a strained left groin. Oakland hopes to have him back next week.

Angels: A day after C Logan O‘Hoppe had surgery on the torn labrum in his left shoulder, the rookie said he will have to wear a sling for three weeks. O’Hoppe still hopes to return late this season from an injury with an estimated recovery time of four to six months.

Up Next

Ohtani (3–0, 0.64 ERA) has the sixth outing of his spectacular pitching season while carrying a streak of 12 straight starts allowing two or fewer runs. Oakland finishes the series with JP Sears (0–1, 4.98) on the mound.

By Greg Beacham