Shohei Ohtani strikes out 10, hits winning single in Miami

MIAMI — Shohei Ohtani celebrated his birthday a day late. Though the two-way phenom turned 28 years old on Tuesday, his focus was on Wednesday: his next pitching start for the Angels.

That lack of celebration led to delayed gratification for Ohtani, whose historic career continued as he lived up to his two-way signifier, allowing one unearned run over seven innings with 10 strikeouts — retiring 15 in a row at one point — while driving home the go-ahead run in Los Angeles’ 5-2 win over Miami at loanDepot park.

Ohtani is the first player since RBI became official in 1920 to do all the following in a single game: 10 strikeouts as a pitcher, two RBIs as a batter and a stolen base.

The win, which pushed the Angels to 38-45 on the season, marked Ohtani’s fifth in as many starts, a career-first for the right-hander. The last Angels pitcher to earn a win in five straight starts was Hector Santiago in 2016.

At the plate, Ohtani went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, one walk and a run scored. With the bases loaded in the fifth, Ohtani threaded a two-run single through the left side to end an 0-for-7 streak and give the Angels a 3-1 lead.

That go-ahead RBI ultimately ended Los Angeles’ four-game losing streak, ironic given that it was an Ohtani start that ended the Angels’ 14-game losing streak at the beginning of June. That start (June 9), was also the first win of Ohtani’s current five-win streak, and was the last time he homered during a pitching start.

Ohtani also stole second base as part of a double-steal with Jonathan Villar in the seventh, making Ohtani the fourth Angel with multiple seasons of 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases prior to the All-Star break.