Otani played as the second batter and starting pitcher in the 2023 Major League Baseball home showdown against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on the 4th. 토토
Otani, who had been sluggish on the mound recently due to blisters and nail problems, showed his best pitching in nine innings with one hit, three walks, eight strikeouts and no runs in the first game of the doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers on the 28th of last month. And it seemed that good momentum continued on this day. However, while pitching four scoreless innings, Ohtani suddenly left the mound.
The problem was the spasm of the right hand and fingers. As a result, Otani went down the mound with 59 pitches, three hits, one walk, four strikeouts, and no runs in four innings as a pitcher, forcing him to postpone his 10th win for the second consecutive year to his next appearance. However, at bat, Ohtani soared with two hits one home run, one RBI, two runs, and two walks.
Otani started the game with a hit by leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford in the first inning, and faced a crisis of losing points at first and third bases due to defensive errors on follow-up hitter Julio Urias’ ground ball. However, he calmly tied Eugenio Suarez with a fly ball to shortstop, struck out a 99.9 mile about 160.8km fast ball to Carl Raleigh, and scored no runs on Ty France’s ground ball with the help of third baseman Mike Mustakus.
When the splitter did not listen, Ohtani continued to pitch solidly with a cutter comparable to the splitter drop. Otani also had a hit in the second inning, but finished the inning without losing a point with two strikeouts, and in the third inning, he finished the inning without a big crisis, with good defense from left fielder Randall Grichik. And in the fourth inning, he blocked the Seattle lineup with a double play.
However, as if a sudden problem occurred, Otani did not take the mound from the fifth inning. The Angels club revealed the background of having no choice but to throw only four innings and go down the mound, saying, Shohei Otani had cramps in his right hand and fingers. As he was no longer able to throw the ball on the mound, he delayed achieving 10 wins, but continued to play at-bat.
It was a game that didn’t shine much in the pitcher, but it was different in the at-bat. Ohtani hit Seattle starter Brian Woo’s first-pitch cutter in the first inning to score a hit toward the right-center field, continuing his eight-game hitting streak. And in his second at-bat, he got a walk after a five-ball game and completed a multi-base game.
The presence continued to stand out. Otani got an automatic intentional four balls when he had an advantageous count of 3B-0S in the bottom of the sixth inning when he was trailing 0-1. Seattle’s bench, extremely wary of Otani’s home run. Here, Otani homered on C.J. Kron’s timely hit to balance the game 1-1, and the Angels, who rode the flow, turned the game around 2-1 with a timely hit by the Mustakers.
Otani’s most brilliant scene was his last at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead, Ohtani faced Seattle’s changed pitcher Aijaea Campbell and pulled a fastball 96.2 miles about 154.8 kilometers toward his body for the sixth pitch. The ball, which left Otani’s bat, stretched at a speed of 106.7 miles about 171.7 km, flew 390 feet about 118.9 meters and led to a solo home run over the right fence. 40th home run of the season. Sarah Reims of MLB drew admiration, calling it unrealistic.
Despite Otani’s one-man show performance, the Angels couldn’t smile at the end. It was a reversal of ‘shock’. The Angels put closer Carlos Esteves in to close the game in the ninth with a 3-1 lead of 3-1. However, he started shaking from the start of the inning and caused a full base crisis, allowing Cade Marlow to turn the game around. In the end, the Angels failed to regain the atmosphere in the bottom of the ninth inning and failed to recapture the third place in the American League West.
