Pushing the boundaries, Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani never ceases to amaze, both on the mound and batting.
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Even before making his first pitch Wednesday night in a 6-0 win against the Astros in Houston, Ohtani had already appeared twice at the plate. The Japanese gunner was indeed the starter for the Los Angeles Angels. However, he was also at the forefront of the offensive formation in a game where his team scored six points in the first inning.
“By scoring six points at the start of the first, it can become difficult [comme lanceur] to stay focused and go for the outs,” Ohtani said, as quoted by Major League Baseball’s website. But I started with a pitch, then one batter at a time.
Ohtani, who himself walked and hit a double in the top of the first inning, will have finally been perfect in his first five innings on the mound. He allowed his first and only hit of the game in the Astros’ sixth round at bat, going 12 out.
“He was at his best tonight [mercredi], it was a great performance, qualified the manager of the Angels Joe Maddon, at the end of the meeting. I think he was just tired of the Astros giving him trouble. He wanted to do something to fix it, both as a pitcher and as a hitter.
In six career starts against the Astros before Wednesday night, Ohtani was 0-3 with a 5.92 ERA. However, he gave one hit and one walk in six complete innings. On offense, he finished the night with two hits in four appearances, crossing the plate once and driving in two runs.
-According to the Major League Baseball website, no starting pitcher before Shohei Ohtani had ever gone to bat twice before taking the mound. At least since 1900.
