OC Register: Shohei Ohtani flirts with a cycle while pitching in Angels’ victory

[AngelsWin.com]

BALTIMORE — Shohei Ohtani had the kind of game that only he could have.

Ohtani blasted a three-run homer and came up just a double shy of the cycle, which made up for the fact that he gave up five runs in the Angels’ 9-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.

Ohtani’s ninth home run of the season was a 454-foot blast, a three-run shot that snapped a 4-4 tie in the fourth inning.

After his homer keyed a five-run inning, Ohtani turned back into Ohtani on the mound. He gave up one run over the next four innings, finishing with seven innings on 98 pitches.

He had a chance to become the first player in major league history to hit for the cycle in a game when he had been the starting pitcher. He singled in the third, homered in the fourth and tripled in the fifth.

Ohtani grounded into a fielder’s choice in the seventh, but he dropped a bloop single into left field in the ninth. It was the first time in Ohtani’s career he had four hits in a game that he pitched. He also walked, making him the first starting pitcher to reach base safely five times in a game since Mel Stottlemyre did it for the New York Yankees in 1964.

It was the sixth time in Ohtani’s career that he hit a homer in a game when he pitched, and the fourth time that he hit a homer in a game that he won.

Although he didn’t make history, he did enough to help the Angels to a much-needed victory after they had suffered a pair of frustrating, late-inning losses to the Guardians over the weekend in Cleveland.

Ohtani led the offensive barrage, but catcher Chad Wallach also had three hits, including a homer, in his first game since returning from the concussion list. Hunter Renfroe had two doubles. Everyone in the starting lineup had a hit or an RBI by the fourth inning.

For all Ohtani did at the plate, his performance on the mound lately has raised some eyebrows.

After starting the season with an 0.64 ERA in his first five games, Ohtani now has a 6.12 ERA in his last four games, which has raised his ERA for the season to 3.23. Prior to this stretch, he had never allowed three or more runs in three straight games, and now he’s done it in four straight.

On Monday he gave four of the runs on a pair of hanging sweepers, which were hit for two-run homers by Adam Frazier and Anthony Santander. Ohtani gave up another homer on a fastball to Cedric Mullins.

Ohtani has now allowed five homers this season on the sweeper, which is only one fewer than he gave up all of last season.

He clearly recognized that the pitch is not working as well as usual, and he threw it just 27% of the time on Monday, his lowest percentage of the season.

More to come on this story.

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[Revad]

1 hour ago, AngelsWin.com said:

Mel Stottlemyre did it for the New York Yankees in 1964.

I recall him, vaguely.  Time does go by.

[HeavenlyHalos]

Great to get 7 innings out of him on top of an amazing offensive game but he really needs to stop throwing his sweeper so frequently, it's been getting crushed lately.

[arch stanton]

Maybe Shohei is playing some 3D chess right now getting hitters to salivate over seeing the sweeper then later in the season he'll revert to the splitter that they can't touch and the dorks in the analytics office will have to recalculate

[CaliAngel]

Seeing Ohtani giving up homers while pitching, then doing his own to make up for it, with an absolute no doubter...was spectacular.

 

[Angel Oracle]

7 hours ago, Revad said:

I recall him, vaguely.  Time does go by.

Even better, Stottlemyre was a rookie when he did it in 1964.