BALTIMORE -- Shohei Ohtani turned a shaky start on the mound into another night of historic excellence.
Ohtani became the first starting pitcher since 1964 to reach base five times in a game as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-5 on Monday night. Ohtani had four hits and a walk, making up for his pitching struggles with a stellar performance at the plate. He hit a titanic three-run homer and finished a double shy of the cycle on a night the Orioles hit three home runs off him.
"I'm sure all those records come because the sample size is so small, so I don't really look too deeply into it," Ohtani said through a translator.
The last person to reach base five times in a game he started on the mound was Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees, on Sept. 26, 1964, against Washington.
Ohtani (5-1) allowed 5 runs on 4 hits in 7 innings, but he did plenty of damage with a bat in his hands. In addition to his 456-foot drive in the fourth that gave the Angels a 7-4 lead, he had a walk, two singles and a triple.
"He's a once-in-a-generation player. Once in a lifetime, really," Orioles infielder Adam Frazier said. "Special guy, and I'm glad to say I can compete against him, because it's fun. He brings out the best in everyone."
Needing a two-base hit for the cycle, Ohtani grounded into a forceout in the seventh. In the ninth, there was an audible cheer from the Baltimore crowd when Mike Trout drew a two-out walk to give Ohtani another plate appearance. He singled directly to the left fielder, and there was no real chance of it turning into a double.
No starting pitcher has ever hit for the cycle, according to Sportradar.
"I was definitely happy to see that walk give me a shot for the cycle," Ohtani said. "But I failed."
Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez (2-1) allowed 8 runs and 9 hits in 3 1/3 innings. With the score tied at 4-4 in the fourth, Ohtani connected for his ninth home run of the season. The ball appeared to bounce off the gate behind the seating area in right-center field at Camden Yards.
"I was actually pretty relaxed at the plate today," Ohtani said. "Hung the curveball in a good spot. I didn't even really take a hard swing, but the ball went where it went."
Matt Thaiss added an RBI double that inning. Then in the fifth, Ohtani tripled and scored his third run of the game on Hunter Renfroe's double.
The Orioles had more success against Ohtani while he was pitching. Frazier hit a two-run homer in the second to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead, and after Gio Urshela of the Angels hit a two-run double in the third, Anthony Santander answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to put the Orioles up 4-3.
Chad Wallach led off the fourth with a home run for the Angels, and they went on to score four more runs in the inning.
Cedric Mullins hit a solo shot for Baltimore in the fifth. After allowing only 2 runs in 28 innings through his first 5 starts, Ohtani has allowed 17 runs in 25 innings over his past four. In those last four starts, he's yielded eight home runs.
"Sometimes he does get tired," Manager Phil Nevin said. "Impressive night. I know he gave up the five runs, but ... the damage was minimal because the hits were down. Not a lot of guys on base."
YANKEES 7 , BLUE JAYS 4 Aaron Judge homered twice, including a 462-foot drive over the center field batter's eye three pitches after manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing a called strike to the slugger, and visiting New York Yankees beat Toronto. Judge hit a pair of solo homers, putting the Yankees ahead in the first inning with an opposite-field shot to right against Alek Manoah (1-4) and extending New York's lead to seven in the eighth with a 114.9 mph scorcher off Jay Jackson. Judge had three RBI and reached base five times, raising his season home run total to 10 with his third multihomer game this year and the 30th of his career. He walked three times, including once with the bases loaded. Judge had entered 1 for 19 against Manoah with seven strikeouts. Boone was ejected for arguing a 1-1 slider below the zone that was called a strike by plate umpire Clint Vondrak. Boone came out of the dugout to vent at Vondrak and crew chief James Hoye.
MARINERS 10, RED SOX 1 Cal Raleigh became the first catcher to homer from both sides of the plate at Fenway Park, and George Kirby pitched Seattle past Boston. Raleigh hit a pair of long two-run homers and Eugenio Suarez added a two-run shot of his own. Ty France had two doubles to extend his hitting streak to 12 games for Seattle, which has won 10 of 14.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 10, METS 3 Joey Meneses drove in four runs as part of a four-hit day, CJ Abrams homered and host Washington defeated New York to split a four-game series.