Shohei Ohtani, the “pitcher” who never shows signs of fatigue, has decided to skip one start. It’s not an injury, it’s a matter of fitness.
Speaking to local media ahead of the Angels’ game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on Thursday, Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin said, “As I’ve told you many times, Ohtani knows his body better than anyone. I completely trust him when he talks about his body,” he said. “It’s not like he’s injured or in pain. It’s just normal arm fatigue like any other pitcher. He will rest and prepare for his next start.”바카라사이트
As a result, Ohtani will skip his initially scheduled road game against the Texas Rangers on the 16th and will start a three-game series at home against the Cincinnati Reds on the 22nd and 24th. Nevin was noncommittal about when Ohtani’s next start will be.
Ohtani throws hard during his start against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. EPAYouth Korea
The postponement was requested by Ohtani. Ohtani reportedly met with Nevin on the 13th to express his desire to postpone his start. Nevin did not have a say in the matter.
“I’m disappointed with how I pitched today,” Ohtani said after his six-inning, one-run win over the San Francisco Giants on 10 October, his 10th of the season. He wasn’t feeling well. To add insult to injury, Ohtani has been bothered by a nail and blister on his right middle finger since 28 June against the Chicago White Sox, and recently suffered from hand cramps.
This is the first time Ohtani has missed a start this season, although he has pushed it back a day or two. However, this postponement has nothing to do with the “hitter” himself.
“Ohtani is good,” Nevin said. He has no problem hitting. As you saw in yesterday’s game, there are not many players who hit the ball as hard as he does. He feels good at the plate and his body is in good shape. It’s just the throwing that’s the problem. I’m a little tired,” he explained.
Shin-Soo Choo takes a mid-week solo home run off Houston right-hander Parker Machinski in the sixth inning for a 1-0 lead. AP
Ohtani proved Nevin’s explanation right in Houston, as he unleashed a barrage of home runs. With two outs in the top of the sixth inning and a 1-0 lead, Ohtani took a two-seam 81.4-mph slider from Houston left-hander Parker Machinski on a high course in the middle of the plate and smashed it over the centre field fence.
It was his 41st home run of the season with a 28-degree launch angle, 110.2 mph and 448 feet (137 metres) of travel, his first big cannon in 10 days, nine games and 37 at-bats since his eighth-inning solo shot at home against the Seattle Mariners on April 4.
However, the Atlanta Braves’ Matt Olson, who passed Ohtani to become the combined leader in both leagues in home runs, hit his 43rd of the season on the same day, a 455-foot blast to right-centre field in the eighth inning against the New York Mets. His lead over Ohtani remains at two.
Olson’s home run pace in the second half has been explosive. He caught up to Ohtani with his 40th home run of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the 11th, then followed it up with his 41st and 42nd home runs of the season in the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets on the 13th. By the end of the second half, Ohtani had eight homers and Olson had 14.
At the same pace for the rest of the season, Ohtani would have 56 homers and Olson would have 60.
Ohtani now has about eight or nine days of batting. The home run arsenal could get hot again. Plus, Mike Trout’s return is getting closer. Trout, who was placed on the disabled list on the fifth of last month with a fractured metacarpal in his left hand, took swinging practice today. “It’s encouraging that he took some swings today,” Nevin said. The next step is to get some fastballs against a pitching machine. His return will depend on how comfortable he feels in the cage.”