Shohei Ohtani in his second at-bat against the Angels‘ pitcher him in the third inning on Sunday night.“The velocity drop was probably the obvious Wily Peralta Jersey ,” Springer said. “He was throwing 98-99 and then came out throwing 88-92. When it’s that obvious I hope he’s OK.”Springer hit a two-run homer and finished a triple shy of the cycle to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-2 win over Los Angeles in Ohtani’s return to the mound.Ohtani (4-2) lasted just 2 1/3 innings in his first time pitching since June 6 because of an elbow strain. Both of the hits he allowed were to Springer — a leadoff single and his two-run shot in the third that made it 2-0.Springer was right about something being wrong with Ohtani. After the game Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Ohtani was dealing with tightness in his back and a sore right ring finger after he deflected a ball off of it in the second inning. But Scioscia doesn’t think either problem should cause him to miss more time.“First two innings were electric. That’s what you expect,” Scioscia said. “Third inning obviously his stuff wasn’t as crisp … there was definitely a drop of velocity but not connected at all to the thing that he had with his elbow before. Hopefully he has good workouts in between and be ready to go next week.”Alex Bregman finished with two hits and his solo homer in the seventh inning pushed the lead to 4-2.Ohtani joined Babe Ruth as the only players in major league history to start 10 games as a pitcher and hit 10 homers in a single season. The rookie, who has 15 homers, missed almost a month after he was injured before returning as the team’s designated hitter on July 3.He threw 49 pitches, striking out two and walking two.“I gave up that two-run shot so I failed to do my job as a starting pitcher,” he said in Japanese through an interpreter. “So, that’s a disappointment right there. Body-wise, I really can’t say much at this point. I will wait until (Monday) to see how my body reacts. As of now my body feels fine.”Houston starter Gerrit Cole (13-5) allowed six hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings for his third straight win after losing three in a row. He struck out nine to move past teammate Justin Verlander (240) and into first place in the American League with 243 strikeouts. Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save.After Springer’s single in the first, Ohtani walked Carlos Correa with two outs http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-lucas-duda-jersey , but he struck out Tyler White to end the threat. He pitched a 1-2-3 second inning before Tony Kemp drew a walk to start the third. Springer then sent a 77 mph slider into the Crawford Boxes in left field with two strikes for his first homer since Aug. 5.“He’s been teetering on that a little bit over the last couple weeks and every hitter needs to feel a little bit of success no matter the work they’re putting in,” manager A.J. Hinch said of Springer. “So tonight he put it all together and really did a nice job at the top of the lineup.”Jose Altuve grounded out after that and Ohtani was replaced by Jim Johnson.Jose Fernandez got things going for the Angels in the fourth with a single before Cole plunked Taylor Ward. Fernandez advanced to third on a passed ball by catcher Martin Maldonado. White grabbed a grounder hit by Francisco Arcia and threw home in time to beat Fernandez for the first out of the inning.The Angels cut the lead to 2-1 when Jefry Marte grounded into a force out that scored Ward and left Arcia out at second.Springer doubled on a ball that was just inches away from being a home run to start Houston’s fifth. The Astros pushed the lead to 3-1 later in the inning when Correa drew a bases-loaded walk.Ward singled with no outs in the sixth before a one-out single by Marte. Cole struck out Eric Young Jr. and was replaced by Tony Sipp, who walked Kole Calhoun to load the bases. Joe Smith took over and hit David Fletcher with a pitch to send a run home and cut the lead to 3-2 before Correa made a nice catch on a ball hit by Mike Trout to end the inning.TRAINER’S ROOMAngels: LF Justin Upton was out of the lineup with a concussion after he was injured Saturday night. The injury came when he slid to avoid a collision with Andrelton Simmons when the two were tracking a pop up in the fifth inning. He is listed as day to day.K’s ALL DAYCole and Verlander are the first teammates to have 240 or more strikeouts each since Kerry Wood (266) and Mark Prior (245) did it for the Chicago Cubs in 2003. The last teammates in the AL to pile up that many K’s were Nolan Ryan (327) and Frank Tanana (261) for the Angels in 1976.UP NEXTAngels: Matt Shoemaker (1-0, 4.76 ERA) will come off the disabled list to make his first start since March 31 when Los Angeles opens a three-game series at Texas on Monday. Shoemaker, who had surgery on his right forearm in May, is 4-2 with a 5.68 ERA in six career starts against the Rangers.Astros: Dallas Keuchel (10-10, 3.58) is scheduled to start for Houston in the first of three games against the Twins on Monday. Keuchel allowed eight hits and three runs in six innings of a 5-4 win over Oakland in his last start but did not factor in the decision. TORONTO (AP) — The Houston Astros moved their celebration from the team hotel to the clubhouse.The Astros marked their second straight AL West title by dousing one another with wine and beer and enjoying cigars after Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.“We’re getting used to this,” infielder Alex Bregman said. “I like it.”It was the second celebration of the day for the Astros, who clinched the division just after 2 a.m. Wednesday when Oakland lost at Seattle 10-8 in 11 innings.The Twitter account of the defending World Series champions posted videos of players Alex Gordon Jersey , coaches and their partners jumping up and down in celebration inside a meeting room at The Ritz-Carlton Toronto.“It was pretty unique,” ace Justin Verlander said. “There’s been some unique scenarios, but not like that one.”Back inside the smoky, dripping clubhouse, the Astros enjoyed a party that was, in Verlander’s words, “a little more traditional.”“I hope we do this three more times,” he said.Houston opens the AL Division Series at home on Oct. 5 against Central Division champion Cleveland. Before Wednesday’s game, Bregman said he was “super pumped” to repeat as division winners.“We haven’t had the smoothest of rides http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-george-brett-jersey , a little adversity along the way, but we’ve pushed through it and we’re playing good baseball at the right time,” he said.Left-hander Dallas Keuchel was among those who stayed up to watch the A’s play Tuesday night at Safeco Field. Having celebrated late into the night, Keuchel was taking it easy at Wednesday’s postgame party.“I usually drink a little bit at these but I’m still hurting from last night,” Keuchel said.Second baseman Jose Altuve said he was proud of his teammates for wrapping up a repeat division title.“We’re having a lot of fun,” Altuve said. “I think we deserve this, we all deserve this.”Manager AJ Hinch, who stayed away from the hotel gathering because of a minor illness, decided to get involved in the clubhouse celebrations.“It probably set me back a couple of days Mike Moustakas Jersey , but it’s worth it,” Hinch said. “There’s one team that can repeat, and that’s us. We need four celebrations and 11 wins. Those are all the points that this team needs to know.”Hinch spoke to the Astros before Wednesday’s game to congratulate and thank the players, and to remind them of the task ahead.“I’m so proud of this team,” Hinch said before the game. “To go back-to-back 100 wins, back-to-back division championships, it’s not easy to do what we’re doing, so I do want out guys to relish in it.”The Astros (100-57) need three wins in their final four games to break the 1998 team record.“It’s something we would like to accomplish,” Verlander said. “Selfishly Salvador Perez Jersey , I think we’ve got the best Houston Astros team ever assembled. Having the record to show that would be nice.”Houston is now turning its attention to the Indians.“They’re a really good team,” Altuve said. “They’ve got really good hitters like we do. They’ve got good pitching. We’ve got good pitching, too. It’s going to be interesting. I pick my team, obviously, but I think it’s going to be good competition.”Houston’s success the past two seasons is particularly meaningful to Altuve and Keuchel, who each suffered through multiple 100-loss campaigns in their first years with the team. The Astros lost a combined 324 games from 2011-2013.“You’ve got to take a second to think about how good it feels,” Keuchel said. “Being a part of two 100-loss seasons back-to-back when I first got called up and then now being part of part two consecutive 100-win seasons is pretty special.”