Halo stars “sho” off in 8-2 victory

By Pete Zarustica

The Angels’ 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday was a “show-time” not only for Halo starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani, but also the team’s potent offense.

In winning the rubber match at Safeco Field in the Emerald City the Angels  (21-13) moved into a full-game lead in the American League West. The Orange County team has so far won a series from each division rival.

Ohtani (3-1) pitched six-plus strong innings and ended up yielding six hits and two runs. He struck out six batters and walked one. He threw six shutout innings before running out of gas in the seventh and getting touched by Ryon Healy for a two-run homer.

“His stuff looked great,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “For not being out there for a while, his command was really sharp. Might have gotten a little bit tired in the seventh leading off, but outside of that, it’s a great outing for Shohei.”

At the plate, the Angels continued to be potent, with 12 hits and three home runs. Mike Trout was 3-for-4, including a three-run blast in the sixth. Solo homers were hit by Zach Cozart and Chris Young.

Catcher Rene Rivera also had a good night with two hits and three runs batted in.

The Angels will take Monday off, and then start a series on Tuesday in Denver against the Rockies (20-15) with Andrew Heany (1-1) making the start.