Angels Sweep Dodgers as Ohtani Delivers Two-Way Show

In a dramatic Freeway Series between the crosstown rivals, Shohei Ohtani found himself at the center of a pivotal two-game stretch. On Tuesday night at Angel Stadium, Ohtani lined into a middle-in triple play to erase a Dodgers rally, then homered to give Los Angeles a late lead, only to see the Angels rally for a 7-6 walk-off win in 10 innings. The next night, Ohtani returned to the Angel Stadium mound for the Dodgers in his first appearance there since leaving the Angels, delivering four-plus innings of work in a 6-5 Angels victory that completed the series sweep and moved Los Angeles into a first-place tie in the NL West with San Diego.

The triple play on Tuesday capped a tense six-inning moment when Ohtani hit a liner up the middle off Angels pitcher Brock Burke. Zach Neto, the Angels shortstop, snagged the ball, stepped on second to retire the baserunner who lagged off the bag, and fired to first for the tag on Dalton Rushing. Neto credited Nolan Schanuel with completing the play at first. “I caught the ball, stepped on second, and as I was looking to first, I saw the guy kind of still puzzled at first, so I threw the ball over there hoping Nolan could make a play, and he...