Making his first pitching appearance since 2018, Shohei Ohtani, the Angels’ two-angel star, did not record an out against the Oakland Athletics.
Ohtani struggled with his control, walked three batters and allowed three hits before being caught by a reliever. In all, he threw 30 pitches and was charged with five runs.
He electrified the MLB in 2018 by acting at the star level as a pitcher and hitter en route to AL Rookie of the Year honors. However, he only made 10 starts before injuring his elbow and required Tommy John surgery. The Japanese star, secured by the Angels in a closely watched recruiting process before 2018, is now 26 years old and trying to resume the two-way player experiment.
The Angels and manager Joe Maddon are expected to start him once a week as a pitcher, on Sundays, while he plays as a designated hitter most other days. He has hit 40 home runs and posted 135 OPS +, meaning his batting line has been 35 percent better than the major league hitter average in his career thus far.
The brief departure on Sunday was worrying beyond the poor results. Ohtani’s fastball averaged just 93 mph on Sunday after sitting at 97 mph in 2018. The Angels, skinny with proven pitchers and who need Ohtani to reach his potential to compete in a tough division, will have to wait for this first start to be a rust signal on your return from surgery.
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