For the second time this season and the seventh time in his career, Shohei Ohtani homered in the same game that he pitched in en route to a 5-4 Angels win Friday night.
It was a forgettable start for the 2021 AL MVP, who struggled mightily with his control. He issued three hits, five walks, and hit a batter, while striking out six in his five innings of work. Ohtani now has a 3.23 ERA in 13 starts this year. For reference, in his MVP campaign, Ohtani finished with a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts.
Friday night’s struggles came as somewhat of a surprise, as the two-way star pitched on an extra day of rest for the first time this season. He opened the game with a walk, marking the sixth time out of 13 starts he’s done so.
Although he retired the following two hitters, he was consistently working behind in the count. In the second pitch of the at-bat against Jarred Kelenic, Ohtani hung a sweeper and surrendered a two-run homer. It was the seventh homer off of a sweeper, which is one more than all of last season.
Despite the homer to Kelenic, Ohtani was able to erase his early mistake in the way that only he can, with his bat. Ohtani hit a two-run 440 foot blast to deep right field in the third inning, quickly wiping out the 2-0 deficit.
Ohtani got through the second through the fourth inning unscathed, before running into some trouble in the fifth inning. After walking the leadoff hitter and hitting another batter, he gave up an RBI-single to Ty France. He escaped the jam with minimal damage after getting Kelenic to ground out in a double play.
“I didn’t feel really good overall today,” said Ohtani. “Even more than my command, it’s the way I’m moving my body. I feel like I’m being less efficient moving my body.”
Ohtani at the plate was a different story. He finished the day with three hits and was one hit shy of the cycle when pitching for the third time this season. It was also his fourth three-hit game while serving as the starting pitcher.
“I’m feeling really good at the plate right now and more than that, I’m just happy the team won,” said a relieved Ohtani.
Ohtani’s next projected start is on June 15 against the AL West-leading Rangers at Globe Life Field. It should be a fun pitching matchup for Ohtani, who will be facing May’s AL Pitcher of the Month Nathan Eovaldi.
