On the 28th (hereinafter Korean time), Ohtani took the mound as the 2nd hitter and starting pitcher in the 1st game of the 2023 Major League Baseball match against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, USA and recorded no runs while striking out 8 with 1 hit in 9 innings. , decorated his ninth win of the season with a shutout.
It is the first time Ohtani has won a shutout as a pitcher since advancing to the major leagues in 2018. He recorded 13 complete games and 7 shutouts in 85 career appearances during his time in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In his major league career, he tasted the thrill of a shutout victory in his 83rd career appearance. In the previous three appearances in July, Ohtani was sluggish with 5 runs in 3 consecutive games (5 runs in 5 innings – 5 runs in 5 innings, 4 earned runs – 5 runs in 6⅓ innings). But this day was different. He continued his three-way streak by striking out every inning until the fourth inning.
His first on-base allowed came in the 5th inning. 스포츠토토 At the end of the 5th inning, when the Angels were leading 3-0, Ohtani made a 0-2 advantage against lead hitter Kerry Carpenter, but allowed a heavy hit while throwing a 97.9 mph (approximately 157.6 km) fastball on the third pitch. Ohtani, whose no-hit streak was broken, finished the fifth inning by handling the next hitter with a double hit and a catcher pop-fly.
Afterwards, Ohtani gave up one walk every inning from the 6th to the 8th, but organized the innings without any crisis. The biggest crisis was sending a runner to second base with a ground ball from the follow-up hitter after the lead batter walked at the end of the 8th inning. However, Ohtani lightly prevented the scoring crisis with a ground ball from first out and second base and a shortstop pop fly. Ohtani, who got two outs with a straight hit and strikeout in the ninth inning, allowed Riley Green a sharp hit, but the final out count went up as it flew right in front of the center fielder.
Ohtani faced a total of 29 batters and threw 111 pitches (71 strikes), and the highest speed of his fastball was 99.5 miles per hour (about 160.1 km). He threw 62 pitches, more than half of the total number of pitches, as a fastball, and mixed 6 pitches: sweeper (26 pitches), cutter (9 pitches), curveball (5 pitches), splitter (5 pitches), and sinker (4 pitches) to cook batters. did.
Meanwhile, in the first game of the double header, Ohtani, the “batter,” was silent with 2 strikeouts in 5 at-bats. The Angels took the first game 6-0, responding to Ohtani’s good pitch with 11 hits and 6 runs, including Taylor Ward’s multi-homer. In the second game of the double header, “batter” Ohtani exploded. Ohtani, who started as the designated hitter No. 2, made a big success with 2 hits, 2 homers, 3 RBIs and 2 runs in 3 at-bats without showing signs of fatigue. The batting average for the season, which had fallen to 0.296, rose to 0.298.
Ohtani, who struck out after three pitches in the first at-bat in the first inning, had his bat explode in the second inning. At the beginning of the second inning, when the Angels tied 3 hits and 1 walk to make it 3-0, Ohtani pushed a fastball at 94.2 miles per hour (about 151.6 km) on the 7th pitch after a tenacious fight against Detroit starter Matt Manning with 7 pitches. He hit a two-run home run over the left wall. Season 37 home run.
Ohtani, who regained his senses, hit a home run in consecutive at-bats. In the 4th inning, leading 6-2, with no runners and no runners, Manning’s 94.8 mph (approximately 152.6 km) fastball on the 5th pitch hit the middle and swung like a thunderbolt. The batted ball, which reached 116.9 miles per hour (approximately 188.1 km), was connected to a large solo gun that recorded a flight distance of 435 feet (approximately 132.6 m). Ohtani, who hit his 38th home run of the season, completed his 16th career and 4th multi-homer game this season.
Afterwards, Ohtani was replaced with pinch hitter Michael Stefanik in the 4th at-bat in the 7th inning and finished the game. The reason for his replacement was said to be due to muscle spasms in his lower back.
Thanks to Ohtani’s brilliant performance, the Angels also took the second game of the doubleheader 11-4 and ran for 4 consecutive wins. After declaring Ohtani not to be traded, the Angels, who declared a fall baseball challenge, recorded 54 wins and 49 losses (0.524 win rate) for the season, and the Toronto Blue Jays (57 wins, 46 losses odds ratio), who are in the postseason cutoff as third place in the American League (AL) wild card. 0.533) by three games.