Angels Stat of the Day: April 2021
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Angels this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
April 30: Mariners 7, Angels 4 -- Shohei and Babe connect
The Babe Ruth connections to Shohei Ohtani just keep coming. Ohtani went deep for the eighth time this season, making him the first player since Ruth to hit eight-plus homers in the same calendar month in which he started a game as a pitcher, according to STATS. Ruth reached this feat four times spanning from 1918-21.
April 28: Angels 4, Rangers 3 -- Trout passes Fregosi
Superstar Mike Trout passed Jim Fregosi for fifth on the Angels' all-time hit list with a single against the Rangers in the first inning, giving him 1,409 career hits. It also came on a first-pitch offering, which Trout has been more aggressive on this year, swinging 25.6 percent of the time compared to his career average of 13.9 percent, per Inside Edge.
April 27: Rangers 6, Angels 1 -- Upton's hit streak continues
Left fielder Justin Upton extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the eighth inning against the Rangers on Tuesday. It's his longest hit streak since joining the Angels and tied for the seventh-longest of his career. His longest was 18 games with the D-backs in 2009.
April 26: Angels 9, Rangers 4 -- Ohtani's double duty in win
Shohei Ohtani helped his own cause in his two-way start against the Rangers, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored in addition to working five innings to earn his first win since May 20, 2018. He became the first American League pitcher to have at least two hits and three runs scored in a game since the Twins' Jim Perry did it against the Red Sox on May 1, 1971.
April 25: Angels 4, Astros 2 -- 2021 Angels match 1986 Halos
Shohei Ohtani hit the go-ahead homer the Angels needed to avoid a sweep against the Astros, and he also kept Los Angeles on pace with a club record. With Ohtani¡¯s solo shot, the Halos have homered in 18 of their first 20 games this season, which tied a franchise-best mark set by the 1986 club.
April 24: Astros 16, Angels 2 -- Pujols outdoes himself
Albert Pujols has hit a lot of home runs in his career. On Saturday, he sent career homer No. 666 into the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park during the second inning of the Angels' loss to the Astros. The home run sailed off the future Hall of Famer's bat at 112.4 mph, making it the hardest-hit home run that Statcast has tracked from Pujols since 2015.
April 23: Astros 5, Angels 4 (10) -- Heaney has the 'K' stuff
Angels lefty Andrew Heaney struck out 10 over 6 1/3 strong innings against the Astros, marking the 12th time in his career he reached double digits in strikeouts in a start. The last time he struck out 10 batters was on Aug. 28, 2020, against the Mariners.
April 22: Astros 8, Angels 2 -- Pujols torments Astros again
Angels slugger Albert Pujols added to his totals against the Astros with a two-run homer off Bryan Abreu, giving him 61 career blasts against Houston and 32 at Minute Maid Park. No opposing player has more career homers against Houston or at Minute Maid Park than Pujols.
April 21: Rangers 7, Angels 4 -- Ohtani shows off wheels
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani launched a solo homer off Rangers right-hander Mike Foltynewicz and sped around the bases after he hit it. He made it to home in 17.3 seconds, which marks the fastest time on an over-the-fence homer in the Majors this season.
April 20: Angels 6, Rangers 2 -- New record for Trout
Angels superstar Mike Trout absolutely crushed a solo homer off Rangers right-hander Jordan Lyles, as it went a projected 446 feet to left with an exit velocity of 115.5 mph. It was Trout's hardest-hit homer tracked by Statcast since it debuted in 2015.
April 19: Rangers 6, Angels 4 -- Pujols catches 'em napping
Veteran slugger Albert Pujols stole third base as part of a double steal against the Rangers, giving him his first stolen base since Aug. 19, 2019. At 41 years, 94 days old, Pujols became the oldest player to steal a base while playing first base since Julio Franco in 2007. Pujols has stolen 13 straight bases without being caught, dating back to Sept. 19, 2015.
April 16: Angels 5, Twins 3 -- Masters of the double play
The Angels turned four double plays in Friday's 10-3 win over the Twins, marking the first time they had accomplished the feat since Sept. 28, 2017 against the White Sox. All four double plays were started by third baseman Luis Rengifo and turned by second baseman David Fletcher.
April 14: Royals 6, Angels 1 -- Home run streak ends at 11 games
By not hitting a home run in Wednesday's loss to the Royals, the Angels' streak of games with at least one long ball ended at 11. Up to that point, the Angels' streak to start the season was the longest in franchise history, and it made them the 12th team since 1901 to open the first 11 games with at least one home run in each contest.
April 13: Royals 3, Angels 2 -- Trout strikes out four times
Angels superstar Mike Trout had a rare off-night at the plate, going 1-for-5 with four strikeouts, including with two on and one out in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Royals. It was the first time that Trout struck out four times since Sept. 27, 2017, and only the sixth time in 1,263 career games played.
April 12: Angels 10, Royals 3 -- Ohtani smacks 119 mph double
Shohei Ohtani ripped a two-run double in the seventh inning that had an incredible exit velocity of 119 mph. Ohtani became just the fifth player to hit a ball that hard since Statcast was introduced in 2015, joining Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary S¨¢nchez and Nelson Cruz.
April 10: Blue Jays 15, Angels 1 -- Iglesias commits three errors for first time in his career
For the first time in his 10-year career, defensive wizard Jos¨¦ Iglesias committed three errors in a game Saturday. The shortstop was charged with two errors on one play in a controversial play at second base where after two reviews, it was determined he didn't touch second base and wasn't interfered with by the runner sliding into him. He also made a throwing error in the fifth inning trying to throw out Jonathan Davis at first base.
April 9: Angels 7, Blue Jays 1 -- Angels match franchise's best start
In the win over the Blue Jays, the Angels matched the franchise record for the best eight-game start to begin a season. The only other times the Angels have started a year 6-2 were in the 1970, 2017 and 2018 seasons. They finished 86-76 in '70, and had 80-82 campaigns in both the '17 and '18 seasons.
April 8: Angels 7, Blue Jays 5 (11) -- Trout takes ball to school
Angels superstar Mike Trout homered in his third straight game with a solo shot off Blue Jays right-hander Ross Stripling in the fifth inning. It gave Trout a homer in three straight games for the 11th time in his career. His personal best is homering in four straight, something he's done twice in his career.
April 6: Astros 4, Angels 2 -- Trout launches 464-foot homer
Angels superstar Mike Trout absolutely unloaded on a two-run homer off veteran right-hander Zack Greinke. It went a projected 464 feet to left field, which is Trout's fifth-longest homer since Statcast was introduced in 2015. It also left the bat at 113.2 mph.
April 5: Angels 7, Astros 6 -- Don't count the Halos out
The Angels have been a force late in games, as they've scored a combined 14 runs in the eighth and ninth innings through their first five games. The Angels scored four runs in the eighth in their series-opening win over the Astros, giving them their third come-from-behind victory this season.
April 4: Angels 7, White Sox 4 -- Walsh's first two-homer game
Angels first baseman Jared Walsh recorded his first multihomer game against the White Sox and his second blast was a walk-off three-run homer to give the Angels a 7-4 win. It was his second career walk-off hit but his first walk-off homer.
April 3: Angels 5, White Sox 3 -- Upton a thorn in Chicago's side
Justin Upton hit his 22nd career go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later with a two-run blast in the eighth. Four of those 22 have come against the White Sox -- his most against any club.
April 2: White Sox 12, Angels 8 -- Rodriguez's debut one to remember
Right-hander Chris Rodriguez made his big league debut and did something that an Angels Draft pick hadn't done since 2013. Rodriguez became the first Angel in nearly eight years to pitch two scoreless innings in his debut, with Michael Roth being the last player to do so. Rodriguez struck out three batters and allowed two hits and one walk in the outing.
April 1: Angels 4, White Sox 3 -- Rose, Murray welcome Pujols
Veteran first baseman Albert Pujols became just the third player in Major League history to make 21 consecutive starts on Opening Day to start a career. Only three players all-time have started in more Opening Day games than Pujols: Pete Rose (23), Carl Yastrzemski (22) and Hank Aaron (22).