In the opening game, Ohtani (28, Los Angeles Angels) failed to secure a victory even after 12K scoreless runs in 6 innings. At the time, Ohtani felt sorry for the team’s come-from-behind defeat in the dugout, causing many Japanese fans to feel sorry for them.
Then, this time, he decided to cancel everything himself. Shohei Ohtani won his first win this season as a pitcher, and as a hitter, he scored a wedge on three bases.
On the 6th (Korean time), Ohtani played as the starting pitcher 3rd hitter in the 2023 American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB) visiting game against the Seattle Mariners held at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, USA, and threw 111 balls in 6 innings as a pitcher. He threw 3 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts and 1 run.
It was Ohtani’s first win of the season, and the average ERA for the season was 0.75 (1 earned run in 12 innings). The highest four-seam speed on the day was 158 km/h. At the plate, he went 2-for-1 with 1 hit, 2 walks and 1 RBI. His season batting average rose from 0.263 to 0.286.
‘Pitcher’ Ohtani was actually not in a good condition that day. After allowing consecutive walks, he conceded a run on a right-handed hit by Eugenio Suárez. At least, catching first base runner Tyler France, who was rushing home, was a great help to Ohtani. 메이저놀이터
Ohtani faced many difficulties after that, but did not score. He caught Rodriguez with a grounder on first base in a crisis with two outs on first and second base in the second inning, and AJ Pollock with a grounder on third base in the third inning with two outs and a full base. Ohtani came off the mound after meeting the winning pitcher requirements in the 7th inning with a 2-1 lead.
Rather, Ohtani was very active as a hitter. Ohtani, who recorded a walk in the first at-bat in the first inning, a ball to left field in the second at-bat in the third inning, and a walk in the third at-bat in the sixth inning, Ohtani kept his victory with a timely hit in the top of the seventh inning to lead 3-1. In the chance of 2nd out, 1st and 2nd base, he sensibly pushed the low outside ball and made a hit that rolled to the left field. Without this hit, it is highly likely that Ohtani’s victory would have been blown away regardless of the success or failure of the game. This is because the Angels’ bullpen made an extra run that day.
The Angels maintained a one-point lead created by Ohtani’s timely hit and won 4-3. Meanwhile, Chris Flexen from Doosan Bears in the KBO League, who started as a Seattle starting pitcher, became a losing pitcher despite pitching well with 2 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts and 2 runs in 5 innings.