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Ohtani starts it, and Upton finishes it

ANGEL STADIUM of Anaheim (Flickr/Ray LAC).

It’s not just Shohei Ohtani any more.

Sure, the two-way star from Japan has been a spark for the Los Angeles Angels, but Friday’s 13-9 comeback win over the Oakland A’s in Anaheim Friday night showed that Ohtani has got a pretty good team assembled around him.

The Angels fell behind early 6-0, but were not deterred. Ohtani got his team on the board with a monster home run in the bottom of the second, and the rest of the guys did, uh, the rest. They scored four in the fourth, two in the fifth, five in the seventh and one in the eighth.

A key blow was a three-run homer by Justin Upton in the right with two outs, which essentially decided the game. The victory put the Angels at 6-2, tied for first place in the American League West with the Houston Astros.

If you happen to be following this, Ohtani, who has homered in three consecutive games, is batting .389, which places him second in the Halo lineup behind Andrelton Simmons at .412. On Friday, Upton was the top hitter overall with three hits and three RBIs while scoring twice.

The Angels had a lot to overcome, as the A’s hit five home runs. They drove Halo starter Nelson Bridwell to shelter early after 1.2 innings in which he gave up seven hits, six runs and was touched for three homers.

On Saturday the Angels will send J.C. Ramirez (0-1) to the mound to face the A’s. As for Ohtani (1-0), he will be back in his other role as a pitcher facing the Athletics on Sunday.

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