Shohei Ohtani once again reminded the baseball world that he’s one-of-a-kind with an electrifying two-way performance Tuesday night against the White Sox.
The 2021 AL MVP went 3-for-3 with two homers and two RBIs, continuing his tear at the plate in June, while also pitching 6 ⅓ innings of one-run ball and striking out 10. The second homer came in the bottom of the seventh inning, despite a cracked fingernail that forced him to leave the mound. He now leads the Majors in both homers and runs batted in, with 28 homers and 64 RBIs.
“I do want to stay on schedule,” Ohtani said regarding his next start. “We don’t want to force it [the cracked fingernail] but for me, I always want to go out and pitch.”
According to Opta Stats, Ohtani is the first player since 1890 to reach base 4+ times, hit 2+ homers, and strike out 10 batters all in the same game.
Ohtani now has a 3.02 ERA on the season, with a 33.2 K% and 10.2 BB%, holding hitters to a .180 batting average.
It was a balanced game plan for Ohtani, who relied on a combination of his four-seam fastball, cutter, sweeper, and splitter. The splitter was particularly untouchable Wednesday night, as Ohtani was able to get five whiffs on six swings on the pitch.
“I was able to stick to the game plan and execute it well, except for the end when the nail got worse,” Ohtani said. “I was able to put hitters away, and my only regret is that I couldn’t finish the inning.”
Ohtani’s excellent June on the mound and especially at the plate has vaulted the Angels into the Wild Card race with a 44-37 record. If their infield injury crisis does not catch up with them and Ohtani is able to maintain this torrid performance in the next few weeks, the Halos have a strong chance at securing their first playoff berth since 2014.
“It definitely helps when the team is winning,” Ohtani said. “Winning improves our approach to the game and personally I feel like I do better. ”
It will be a pivotal July for the Angels franchise. Despite GM Perry Minasian’s comments last week, contending teams will certainly be monitoring Ohtani’s availability should the Angels hit a rough patch in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline on August 1.
In the meantime, Ohtani will get a chance to bring his ERA below 3.00 for the first time since May 27 in his next start, which barring any complications with the fingernail, will be against the Padres on July 4.
