All it takes is one small injury to ruin an entire game.
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels took the loss in his start to open the second half. A blister on his right middle finger, which was a factor in the first half, appeared to affect his pitching.
Ohtani started a home game against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium on July 15 (ET) and allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks over five innings. Ohtani was handed the loss as the Angels took a 5-7 knee.
Ohtani, who is 7-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 18 starts this season, struck out seven to give him 139 strikeouts on the season. He ranks 16th in the AL in ERA, second in strikeouts, 12th in WHIP, and 15th in innings pitched (105⅓), and his 0.192 batting average still leads both leagues combined.
In 94 pitches, Ohtani topped out at 99.3 mph on his fastball and averaged 95.7 mph. His average velocity was 1.3 miles per hour less than his usual this season, and he threw 33 fewer pitches per minute. His sweeper and cutter were also 62 and 68 revolutions below their season averages, respectively.
Ohtani, who gave up three walks and a strikeout because his right middle finger is not intact, was seen looking at his fingers and pulling something out while pitching, and he also expressed frustration with umpire calls.
Add to that the trade rumors that have been swirling off the field since the All-Star break. On this day, MLB Network’s John Paul Morosi reported that the Angels front office is “open to considering a trade offer for Ohtani if one comes in. A series of circumstances that should have shaken the “mentality” came together in his first start of the second half.
Ohtani pitched 6⅓ innings of four-hit, 10-strikeout, one-run ball against the Chicago White Sox on April 28 with a chipped nail on his middle finger to earn his seventh win of the season, but then took the loss in his final start of the first half against the San Diego Padres on April 5, giving up five runs on seven hits in five innings. It was a game in which the blisters were in full swing.
“Overall, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go,” Ohtani said after the game. I’m not really thinking about when my next start will be. I’m going to go out there and see how my finger feels and make a decision.” “I’m disappointed in a way. It’s not just me, it’s the whole team. I think it’s natural that when you don’t win games, the disappointment grows.”
After getting leadoff man Mauricio Duban to ground out to third and Alex Bregman to ground out to short, Ohtani gave up back-to-back singles to Kyle Tucker and Jose Abreu to put runners on first and second. But he struck out Chas McCormick on an 84.6-mph sweeper outside to end the inning.
After getting leadoff man Bly Madrigal to fly out to center, Corey Jenks to ground out and Jeremy Peña to fly out to left in the top of the second, Ohtani worked a triple play to make it 2-0. Martin Maldonado struck out swinging, Duban grounded out to shortstop, and Bregman struck out swinging.
Ohtani threw a 2-0 fastball sweeper to Tucker with one out in the fourth inning that curved too much and hit him on the left foot. He appeared to be affected by a blister from then on. He gave up back-to-back singles to the next two batters, Abreu and McCormick, to load the bases with no outs. After inducing Madrid to ground out to third base to load the bases, Ohtani gave up a single to right field to Zerks. In the next at-bat, he got Peña to ground out to second base, allowing another run to score and tie the game at 2-2. With runners on second and third, Ohtani got Maldonado to ground out to third to end the threat.
Ohtani got into trouble again in the fifth inning. After giving up a run on a Bregman double to left-center and a Tucker double to left-center, Ohtani made an error on Abreu’s bound grounder that was misplayed by third baseman Luis Renfroe, allowing Tucker to come home and cut the deficit to 4-2. Ohtani then struck out McCormick and Madrid on back-to-back grounders to end the inning. 메이저사이트 추천
The Angels tied the game again at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth on a Mickey Moniak single to right and an Eduardo Escobar single to left, but Ohtani gave up a run in the top of the sixth.
Ohtani was removed after walking the leadoff Zerks. Head coach Phil Nevin personally went to the mound and exchanged a few words with Ohtani before being handed the ball. Jacob Webb came on and gave up a walk to Peña and a sacrifice bunt to Maldonado to put runners on first and third, then gave up a single to Duban to score Ohtani and Peña. Houston got a run back with runners on first and second when Abreu singled through the left side to make it 7-4.
The Angels got two runs back in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff double by Mike Moustakas, Hunter Renfroe’s infield single and Chad Wallach’s bunt to put runners at second and third on Michael Stefanik’s single and Zack Neto’s grounder to the pitcher. Down 2-4, the Angels scored two runs in the fifth inning on four hits, including an RBI single to left by Ohtani, to tie the game at 4-4.
Trailing 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth, the Angels had runners on first and second with no outs, but Stefanik’s bunt went wide and Neto struck out to end the golden opportunity. After getting a run back in the seventh on a Taylor Ward homer, the Angels stranded runners at first and second in the eighth to effectively put the game out of reach.
Meanwhile, Ohtani continued his hot streak, going 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. He struck out twice. For the season, he’s batting .303 (105-for-346) with 32 home runs, 71 RBIs, 64 runs scored, a .659 on-base percentage, and a 1.046 OPS. He still leads both leagues in total bases, home runs, and OPS.