Ramirez' three home runs sinks Angels in home opener

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The superstars shined in the home opener for the Angels, but one star shined brighter.

Mike Trout homered for the Angels, but Jose Ramirez hit three home runs for the Cleveland Guardians in the Angels' 8-6 loss at Angel Stadium Friday.

Jose Ramirez hit a solo homer in the first inning, a two-run blast in the fifth and a solo shot in the ninth. Ramirez tied the Cleveland franchise record held by Albert Belle and Jim Thome with 26 multi-home run games. Ramirez has multi-home run games in Angel Stadium in three of the last four seasons. 

"We might have to walk him with nobody on the bags," Angels manager Ron Washington joked after the game. "He swings the bat well. He's just a quality hitter."

Friday was the second career three-home run game for Ramirez. It was the second consecutive game in which the Angels allowed three home runs to one player. This is the first time in franchise history that the Angels have allowed three home runs to a single player in back-to-back games and the first time since 2005 that they have allowed multiple three-home run games in a season.

Trout gave the capacity crowd something to cheer about with a solo home run in the first inning. The home run came in Trout's first at bat at Angel Stadium since April 29 of 2024 and was career home run No. 99 in the first inning.

The Angels got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but Travid d'Arnaud grounded out to end the game. Logan O'Hoppe hit a solo home run off Guardians' closer Emmanuel Clase in the inning and Jo Adell hit a run-scoring single. Adell had three RBIs Friday.

The Angels had three players exit the game due to injury. Luis Rengifo left in the fourth inning due to left hamstring tightness. Ryan Zeferjahn showed discomfort after a pitch in the sixth inning and left the game. Both players left the game due to hamstring tightness.

Yoan Moncada left the game in the eighth inning due to right thumb irritation. He missed the last two weeks of spring training with an injury to the same thumb. Washington said he doesn't expect any of the three players to go on the injured list and they were all pulled due to precautionary reasons. 

Jose Soriano followed his excellent first start of the season with a roller coaster of a performance in his second start. He allowed four runs on four hits with nine strikeouts and three walks in 5.1 innings of work. He retired seven straight hitters at one point and had a career-high nine strikeouts, but the two home runs by Ramirez are the first Soriano has allowed in 44 innings dating back to July 2 of last year.

"I thought he had good stuff. That group over there put the ball in play a lot. They worked him pretty good," Washington said. "If we could made some pitches on Ramirez, it would have been a different game too."

The Angels took the lead in the third inning. Nolan Schanuel hit a RBI single and Adell drove in two runs with a single to give the Angels a 4-2 lead. 

Brayan Rocchio hit a two-run single in the sixth inning off Reid Detmers, who replaced Zeferjahn after he exited the game with an injury. 

Caden Dana, the Angels' top pitching prospect, came into the game in the seventh inning and allowed a run on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Manzardo. Dana threw 33 pitches in the seventh inning. He pitched a perfect eighth inning on only eight pitches before allowing a solo home run to Ramirez in the ninth. 

The Angels went 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. The Angels had the bases loaded in the fifth inning with one out, but an Adell strikeout and a groundout from Kevin Newman ended the inning. With two runners on base in the seventh inning, Adell hit a ball to the warning track to end the inning.