Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) pitched well in his 8th start of the season, but he did not receive support for scoring, so he postponed his 5th win of the season to the next opportunity.
On the 10th (Korean time), Ohtani started in the 2023 American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB) home game against the Houston Astros held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA, pitched 104 balls in 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks. Recorded 7 strikeouts and 3 runs.
It was Ohtani, who consistently showed good pitching that day, but it was painful to give up 3 points at once while hesitating in the top of the 메이저놀이터 5th inning. Ohtani, who came off the mound with the team trailing 1-3, eventually suffered the first loss of the season (four wins) as the Angels were unable to tie the game and fell to Houston on their knees.
The start was good. In the top of the first inning, he struck out Dubon Mauricio and Alex Bregman and handled it as a ground ball to the third baseman. He then allowed Jordan Alvarez to walk at the end of the 11th pitch, but ended the inning by blocking Jose Abreu with a ground ball from third baseman.
The fighting continued in the second inning. After catching Kyle Tucker on a pitcher grounder, he struck out Jeremy Pena. Afterwards, he allowed Corey Jerks to go on base with a knockout wide throw and gave up second base to steal, but he struck out Jake Meyers and did not give up a run. In the top of the third inning, after putting Martin Maldonado (third baseman grounder) and Dubon (pitcher grounder) to sleep in turn, Bregman got a left-handed hit, but induced Alvarez to second baseman grounder.
The silent Angels line-up gave Ohtani a point with a solo arch by Jack Neto after two outs at the bottom of the 3rd inning.
Feeling lighter, Ohtani struck out Abreu, the lead batter, in the top of the 4th inning. Afterwards, he dedicated his on-base to Tucker by obstructing the catcher’s hit, but he sighed by blocking Pena with a ground ball from third baseman, and with the help of catcher Chris OK, he caught Pena, a runner on first base who was trying to steal second base, and ended the inning.
However, the 5th inning was disappointing. The lead hitter tied Jerks with a fly to left field, but gave Mayers a walk and a stolen second base, causing a crisis himself. In the end, Ohtani was hit with a reverse two-run gun that went over the left wall after a game that went up to 6 pitches with Maldonado.
Ohtani could hardly find peace. He allowed consecutive hits to Dubon and Bregman, drove to 1st and 2nd base with 1 out, and also contributed 1 RBI to Alvarez with a timely hit to the left and suffered the third run of the day. It was comforting to prevent additional runs by inducing Abreu and Tucker to ground balls to the third baseman and ground balls to the first baseman, respectively.
In the top of the 6th inning, Ohtani continued his free throw. Pena (second baseman fly), Jerks (shortstop grounder), and Meyers (strikeout) were captured in turn, completing the first three-way inning of the day.
On the mound in the top of the 7th, Ohtani also struck out Maldonado, the lead batter. He then got a right-handed hit by David Hensley, but finished his duties as a pitcher that day by leading Bregman to a double hit by the second baseman. In the top of the 8th inning, the Angels switched pitchers to Andrew Wants.
However, despite Ohtani’s strong pitching, the Angels’ batting line was unable to surpass the Houston pitching staff, which led to Framber Valdez (8 innings, 3 hits, 12 strikeouts, 1 run) and Ryan Presley (1 inning scoreless). In the end, the Angels, who lost 1-3, took their 17th loss (20 wins). Houston, which broke the chain of three consecutive losses, is 18-18.
On the other hand, Ohtani, who also served as the third hitter on the day, went hitless in three at-bats. In the bottom of the 1st and 4th innings, Ohtani, who only grounded the second baseman and hit the center fielder, succeeded in reaching base at the bottom of the 6th inning by obstructing the catcher’s hit, but failed to hit the home base due to a misfired follow-up. Afterwards, he struck out in his last at-bat in the bottom of the ninth.
