Shohei Ohtani (29-LA Angels) shook up the Japanese archipelago. Shohei Ohtani batted first and hit a home run in the first inning. Ohtani, who started the game on the mound, struck out 10 batters. After 102 pitches, Ohtani came back to the plate and unleashed a cartoonish home run cannon, making him look like a baseball god.
Ohtani was the starting pitcher and No. 2 hitter in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) home game against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA, on April 28.
On the mound, Ohtani pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball with four hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts to earn his seventh win of the season, while at the plate, he went 3-for-3 with two home runs, two RBIs, two runs scored and one walk in four at-bats to lead his team to victory. It was the first time Ohtani has hit two home runs in the same game in which he started. Her season batting average rose to .304 from .294. He also lowered his ERA from 3.13 to 3.02.
Ohtani’s two-hit performance: 6 1/3 innings, 10 Ks, 1 run allowed, 3 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk.
Ohtani came out firing in the top of the first inning, getting Andrew Benintendi to fly out to center field and then retiring Tim Anderson and Luis 메이저놀이터 Robert on back-to-back swinging strikes. Then in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded, Ohtani stepped up to the plate and sent the Angels home fans into a frenzy with a solo shot over the right-center field fence off Michael Kopeck. It was Ohtani’s 27th home run of the season. With the count 2-1, he took a 95 mph (152.9 km/h) four-seam fastball over the right-center field fence. The fastball was measured at 110.8 mph, according to MLB.com Gameday. The distance was 127 meters. Launch angle was 35 degrees.
Ohtani’s home run allowed him to pitch with a little more breathing room. In the second inning, he gave up a leadoff double to Eloy Jimenez, but induced Andrew Vaughn to ground into a double play and then struck out Yasmani Grandal and Jake Berger on consecutive swinging strikes. In the third, he got leadoff hitter Gavin Schutz to ground out to first, Elvis Andrews to fly out to center and Benintendi to strike out. Ohtani led off the bottom of the third with a walk, but was stranded at second base.
The fourth inning was another triple play. Anderson struck out the leadoff hitter, and Roberts and Jimenez were retired on a fly ball to left and a line drive to right, respectively. With the Angels adding a run in the bottom of the fourth, Ohtani took the mound in the top of the fifth. He induced Vaughn to fly out to short, but Ohtani continued to make the call and ended up catching the ball. He gave up a single up the middle to the next batter, Grandal, but induced Burger to fly out to right field and then nabbed Grandal at first base for a double play.
Ohtani led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to right-center field on a full count, continuing his strong play as a hitter and pitcher. He moved to third on a Drury walk and a Mustachus single, but was unable to cross home plate as he couldn’t get a follow-up hit.
Ohtani continued his dominance in the top of the sixth, striking out leadoff hitter Schutz on a wild pitch. The next batter, Andrews, gave up a straight-up double to Benintendi, but Ohtani struck out Anderson and got Robert to fly out to end the inning.
Back in the game in the seventh, Ohtani gave up a leadoff single to Jimenez and then struck out Vaughn on a wild pitch, but a wild pitch allowed him to advance to second. After getting a favorable two-strike count on the next pitch to Grandal, Ohtani threw four straight balls, and that was it. Webb gave up an RBI single to right-center field to Schutz to bring Ohtani within one run.
Ohtani “not human” after 102 pitches, walks off the mound, and hits a home run in the seventh inning
After 102 pitches, Ohtani was already running out of steam, but he wasn’t human. In the bottom of the seventh inning. With leadoff hitter Moniak retired on a single to straightaway right field, Ohtani stepped up to the plate. The White Sox pitcher threw a two-seamer. First pitch a ball. Second pitch a strike. And on the third pitch, an 88.1-mile-per-hour (141.8 km/h) low splitter for a solo arch over the left-field fence. His 28th home run of the season. Bat speed was 106.4 mph (171.2 km/h). The distance was 123 meters. Launch angle of 25 degrees. With the home run, Ohtani extended his lead over Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves – 25 home runs) for the major league lead to three. It was an invaluable home run to take the lead from 2-1 to 3-1 and solidify his victory. In the end, the team scored a run in the seventh inning and a single run in the ninth to defeat the White Sox 4-2. At the same time, Ohtani was able to pick up his seventh win of the season.
According to MLB.com, Ohtani is only the sixth player to record 10 or more strikeouts and two home runs in a game since the start of modern baseball in 1900. It was previously accomplished by Milt Pappas in 1961, Pedro Ramos in 1963, Rick Weiss in 1971, Madison Bumgarner in 2017, and Zack Greinke in 2019. In the American League (AL), which has a designated hitter system, Ohtani became the first player to do so in 60 years.
After the game, Ohtani’s performance rocked the Japanese archipelago. Japanese media outlets were all over the news of Ohtani’s seventh win and his 27th and 28th home runs. “Ohtani’s dominant performance left Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin in awe, saying that he was seeing something in Ohtani that he had never seen before (in Major League Baseball history),” reported Junichi Sports.
Japanese baseball publication Full Count also reported that “Nevin rubbed his eyes and said, ‘Today’s performance was amazing. He took Ohtani off the mound with a broken nail. He said, ‘It’s a pleasure to watch him every game.'” Another Japanese outlet, SporNichi Annex, reported that “the local broadcasters had the highest praise for Ohtani’s performance, using words like ‘amazing,’ ‘inhuman,’ and ‘unreal.