HOUSTON -- Shortly after hammering a two-run homer in the third inning on Sunday night, Astros outfielder George Springer -- wearing a microphone for the ESPN broadcast -- was heard in the home dugout telling his teammates to take advantage of Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani's drastically diminishing velocity.
Ohtani, making his first start on the mound in nearly three months, threw only four more pitches after the third-inning homer before being removed, but Springer's blast wound up being the difference in the Astros' 4-2 win over the Angels at Minute Maid Park.
"The velocity drop was probably the obvious," said Springer, who turned on a slider and sent into the Crawford Boxes in left field to score Tony Kemp, who had walked after looking at fastballs of 88.