Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Smack Three Home Runs off Shohei Ohtani in Big Win Over Angels

Matt Carpenter, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Judge and DJ LeMahieu each homered for the Yankees in Thursday afternoon's victory.

Max Goodman

In this story:

Even generational talents like Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout couldn't get the best of the Yankees' mustache brigade. 

New York's left-hander Nestor Cortes was brilliant, as always, while Matt Carpenter—the new addition hitting leadoff on Thursday—blasted his third home run in a Yankees uniform as the Bombers cruised over the Angels in the first game of a doubleheader, 6-1. 

Carpenter's solo shot set the tone, a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first on the 11th pitch of his at-bat against Ohtani. It was a no-doubter, soaring high into the second deck down the right-field line.

The reigning American League Most Valuable Player lasted just three innings, giving up home runs to Carpenter, Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge. 

With four earned runs allowed in three-plus innings of work on Thursday, Ohtani now has a 27.00 ERA in his career against the Yankees. Last year in the Bronx, Ohtani was chased from a game against New York before he recorded three outs, allowing seven earned runs (on two hits and four walks) in 0.2 frames.

DJ LeMahieu added New York's fourth long ball of the afternoon in the fifth. Miguel Andújar added a sacrifice fly later in the frame, scoring Aaron Hicks to give the Yankees a commanding, 6-0 lead. 

Meanwhile, Cortes continued his remarkable and historic stretch in New York's rotation, pitching seven scoreless innings. The funky lefty hasn't given up more than three earned runs in 19 consecutive starts, the second-longest streak in franchise history, trailing only Russ Ford (who accomplished the same feat over 20 straight outings from 1910 to 1911).

These aren't quick starts either for Cortes. He's gone seven-plus innings in four of his last five outings. And talk about finishing strong, Cortes was as efficient as can be over his final two innings on Thursday, retiring six batters in just 11 pitches. 

Cortes is now second in all of baseball with a 1.50 ERA. Only Texas' left-hander Martín Pérez has a lower ERA (1.42) among qualified pitchers this season.

The Angels made it interesting late in the game. Los Angeles broke through against right-hander Clarke Schmidt in the eighth, scoring their first run of the day on an RBI single from Luis Rengifo. 

After loading the bases, with two men out, Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled Schmidt to summon lefty Wandy Peralta from the bullpen. Peralta was able to get out of the jam against Jared Walsh, getting the left-handed slugger to fly out to Hicks in shallow center field. 

A lengthy rain delay followed. When the ballgame resumed, Peralta retired the side in the top of the ninth to seal the deal, striking out Ohtani for the final out.

New York is back in action later on Thursday night, finishing off a three-game series with Los Angeles in the nightcap of a doubleheader. 

MORE:

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

Published
Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

Home/News