The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 on Sunday, tying his longest hitting streak as a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese Pacific League.
Hot off the heels of signing a new one-year, $30 million deal with the Angels, the two-way superstar kept the streak alive with a single to center in his first appearance on the plate.
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels hits a single to center in the first inning of a game against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim, California on October 2, 2022. (Essonne Info)
He then scored on an RBI single from Taylor Ward as the Halos racked up six runs against right-hander Tyson Miller (1-2) in the first inning of their season finale at Angel Stadium.
Ohtani batted for 17 consecutive games during Nippon Professional Baseball’s 2016 season, when he helped the Fighters win the Japan Series.
Mike Trout hit his 39th homer of the year in the fourth, becoming the all-time home run leader against Rangers with his 44th career blast when against the club.
Despite his consistency at the plate, Ohtani hasn’t homered in the last 19 games, which is his longest streak without a bomb in MLB.
He also hasn’t added to his 94 RBI total, which means he needs six more over the last three games to hit 100 for two straight seasons.
The Angels enter the season finale series against the Oakland Athletics on a seven-game winning streak, their longest since April 8-14, 2018, according to MLB.com.
At Wrigley Field, Seiya Suzuki went 2-for-4 to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-1, extending their winning streak to seven in their final home game.
The former Hiroshima Carp star, who made a strong impression for the Cubs in his major league rookie season, received hearty cheers from Chicago fans as the game ended.
“I’ve played a lot of places, and there aren’t many that have regular crowds like this,” said Suzuki, who recently returned to Japan for the birth of her first child.
