By: Sean Fitzgerald

The Los Angeles Angels came to Cleveland to face the Indians in a weekend set that also includes a Sunday trip to Williamsport, Pennsylvania with the current face of baseball, Shohei Ohtani, also taking the stage. 

Ohtani’s bat didn’t shine tonight, as Cleveland’s offense took center stage with 15 hits and an 9-1 win over the Halos in front of 22,755 at the game. 

Sam Hentges induced a groundout from Ohtani to start off the game. Ohtani’s unparalleled speed on the base paths nearly beat out a good defense play by Andres Gimenez for the first out. Aside from a walk, Hentges left the first inning unscathed. 

Jaime Barria got his fourth start of the year in six total games for the Angels, letting Myles Straw set the table with a grounder up the middle for a base knock and Amed Rosario poking a ball through the left side of the infield.

Starting to show life in his bat after a prolonged slump, Franmil Reyes socked his 22nd homer of the campaign to the left-center field bleachers on a 3-1 pitch with one down, traveling 430 feet.   

The Tribe continued knocking around Barria in the next inning, with Straw strolling into second base with a two-out RBI double and Rosario following suit, extending Cleveland’s lead to 5-0. 

Ohtani came back around to hit for the Angels in the third inning, seeing two straight balls, with the second a wild pitch. With a 2-2 count, he stroked a ball to right field for a single with a simple slap approach.

David Fletcher finally got the Halos on the scoreboard with another base knock to the grass, driving the ball the opposite way and putting Hentges in a jam. Hentges got out of dodge with a 4-3 double play to keep a crooked number off the scoreboard. 

Barria ended up only lasting two innings, serving up five runs on six hits, striking out three batter and walking none, firing 25 of 45 pitches for strikes. 

Hentges spun together a good four frames of one-run on. He only allowed three hits, sending down two Halos on strikes with a walk issued over 61 pitches and 41 called strikes. 

Trevor Stephan came on in relief for the Tribe, whiffing Ohtani for the third out of the fifth inning, as the two-way wonder fell to 0-for-3 on the evening. 

With ducks on the pond and two down in the sixth, Reyes rocked the boat with a two RBI single right between second and third to get the crowd pumped for his third career 5 RBI game, the second time he’s achieved the feat in 2021. Bradley Zimmer plated Jose Ramirez for good measure and an 8-1 score. Jose Ramirez mashed a laser shot to the bleachers in the eighth for the final insurance run and good for 400 feet of air travel.

Ohtani reached base on an error by Yu Chang with two down in the eighth, the first time all night he’d reached base. Chang immediately redeemed himself on a diving catch off a Fletcher liner over the first base bag.

The Angels fell flat and back to .500 with the loss, as the Indians have continued to own the Angels of Anaheim this season.

------Tidbits------

CC Sabathia honored

CC Sabathia started a string of Cy Young award winners during his seven-plus seasons in Cleveland, winning the award in 2007 and later winning a World Series with the New York Yankees in 2009. 

Following the publication and release of his book earlier this summer, Sabathia made a trip back to Cleveland in his retirement, throwing at the ceremonial first pitch and having a field dedicated to him at Luke Easter Park earlier Friday.

The team also announced a partnership with his PitCCh In Foundation, launched during his last Cleveland campaign in 2008. 

Bang out those hits

Factoring in Friday evening’s game, the Indians are 17-10 with 10-plus hits. They’re only 7-27 with five or fewer knocks. The team’s record with six-to-nine hits stands at 35-24.

Stolen base thief 

Jose Ramirez moved into a tie for thirteenth in Indians history for Stolen Bases with current Indians broadcaster and former outfielder Rick Manning in the fourth inning. It was the 142nd swiped bag of Ramirez’s career.

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Sean Fitzgerald is a Kent State graduate and the press box correspondent for Mark One Sports and CLE TribeCast. Follow him on Twitter @fitzonsportsbsr.