ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani hit his major-league-leading 36th homer in the two-way superstar’s final home game before the trade deadline, and the Los Angeles Angels wrapped up a strong homestand with a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Ohtani drilled a low line drive to center field in the first inning, giving him 24 homers in his last 45 games.
Only five other major leaguers entered Sunday with more than 24 homers for the entire season, but Ohtani has rekindled his June power surge after the All-Star break with four homers during the Angels’ nine-game homestand.
Fans still left Angel Stadium not knowing whether they’ll ever see Ohtani in a home uniform again, although the Halos’ recent team success seemingly decreases the odds of a trade. Los Angeles owner Arte Moreno must decide whether to risk losing Ohtani in free agency this winter.
General manager Perry Minasian has said the Angels are highly unlikely to deal Ohtani if they remain in playoff contention. The Angels are still in the AL wild-card race, although it currently features seven teams separated by roughly six games for the final two spots.
Ohtani will make his next mound start Friday in Toronto, manager Phil Nevin said.
The Angels pushed back Ohtani’s final pitching appearance before the trade deadline to give him an extra day of rest and to avoid putting him in line to start a Wednesday afternoon game in hot, humid Atlanta the following week — one day after the trade deadline.
Nevin is worried the humidity could cause a reoccurrence of the finger blister that bothered Ohtani earlier this month.
Andrew Velazquez and Luis Rengifo hit back-to-back homers during the Angels’ four-run fifth inning Sunday, and Rengifo added another homer in the sixth. Mickey Moniak also extended the majors’ longest active hitting streak to 14 games during Los Angeles’ sixth victory in eight games.
Tyler Anderson yielded eight hits while pitching into the seventh inning for the Angels. Carlos Estévez worked the ninth for his 23rd save.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.