Shohei Ohtani – Page 11 – Sports Radio Service

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By Morris Phillips

Years from now, the video chronicling the Major League Baseball career of Shohei Ohtani will begin with the Japanese star plowing through the Oakland A’s.

From Ohtani’s perspective, it will make for a rousing start to a multi-faceted highlight reel.

For the A’s, not so much.

Ohtani beat the A’s for the second straight Sunday–earning his first two big league wins–as he dominated from the start, retiring the first 19 batters he faced. For seven innings, Ohtani was in control, allowing just one hit with 12 strikeouts and no walks. Only Jonathon Lucroy among those in the A’s starting lineup could avoid striking out at least once.

“It didn’t look like [the A’s] had a chance up there, the way he was throwing,” Angels infielder Zack Cozart said. “They got the (one) hit, but it didn’t diminish how he pitched.”

In Oakland, Ohtani clocked in the high-90’s and became nearly unhittable when those fastballs were mixed in with the pitcher’s confounding breaking pitches. But at least he was temporarily fallible, allowing a three-run homer to Matt Chapman. In Anaheim, the 23-year old executed from the first to the seventh, allowing only Marcus Semien’s solidly struck single in the seventh.

From the A’s perspective, their offense was left wounded and in need of an ambulance. The toll in the two Ohtani starts? 55 A’s plate appearances, six batters reached, four hits, two walks and 18 struck out.

“He’s got a deliberate delivery, and it makes his fastball play even better,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “And he has a really good (splitter). The difference in speeds between his split and his fastball and when he locates his split down in the zone, it’s very tough to pick up.”

Ohtani homered in three consecutive games earlier this week, the last of which came against the A’s Friday night. So that’s three home runs and two wins in the first 10 games of Ohtani’s MLB career. No one’s accomplished that combination of feats in the first 10 games of their career since Jim Shaw did so for the Washington Senators in 1919.

The A’s fell into the AL West cellar with the loss, their fifth in seven meetings with the Angels to start the season.

usa_today_10757735.0 — Photo courtesy of Kelley L. Cox/USA Today

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–For a minute, it appeared as if the A’s had a handle on Shohei Ohtani in his major league pitching debut.

For a minute.

In the opening weekend series finale, Ohtani became the first big leaguer to have a starting offensive assignment and pitch as a starter within 10 games of his debut since Babe Ruth. But Ohtani made sure that history was just a jumping off point as he threw high 90’s gas throughout and struck out three the first four batters he faced swinging.

Then Ohtani struggled to execute breaking pitches–an issue for the Japanese import in spring training–and Matt Chapman seized the opening with a three-run homer that gave the A’s a brief 3-2 lead in the second inning.

Did we mention high 90’s gas? After allowing Chapman’s home run, Ohtani leaned heavily on his fastball-splitter combo, retiring 14 of the final 15 batters he faced.

Add 13 hits to Ohtani’s mini-gem and the Angels 7-4 win felt more lopsided and assured than it was.

“You can see how he can get hitters out, not just the velocity but all his pitches,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He used everything. Outside of one stretch of three hitters in the second inning, that’s about as well as you can pitch.”