Mike Trout hit a two-run double and Jhonathan Diaz pitched five innings with authority in his first start of the season as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Washington Nationals 3-0 on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani also drove in a run for the Angels, who posted their third straight win and 10th in 13 games.
The AL West leaders opened a six-game homestand by moving eight games over the .500 mark. They haven’t had such a good record since June 2018.
Four relievers combined for the Angels’ fifth shutout of the season and their second in a row. Los Angeles, a team that has traditionally had poor pitching, had not posted consecutive shutouts since 2016.
Cuban Raisel Iglesias worked perfectly in the ninth inning, resolving it in six pitches, to earn his seventh save.
Diaz (1-0) gave up three hits and walked four in his first opportunity in the Angels’ rotation.
For the Nationals, the Venezuelan César Hernández 4-1. The Dominicans Juan Soto 3-0, Nelson Cruz 4-1, Maikel Franco 3-0, Víctor Robles 3-0. The Venezuelans Keibert Ruiz 4-0, Alcides Escobar 2-1.
For the Angels, there were no Latin Americans at bat.