Starting pitcher Ohtani blasts home run in first at-bat
Ohtani opened the game on the mound with a rousing pitching performance in the top of the first.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Shohei Ohtani got his two-way season off to a stirring start, pitching a shut-out inning and then hitting a home run in his first at-bat of Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and the visiting Chicago White Sox.
The Japanese star made history Sunday night, by pitching and hitting in the same Major League Baseball game for the first time in his career. Ohtani opened the game on the mound with a rousing pitching performance in the top of the first.
He then clobbered his second home run of the season half an inning later by going deep on the first pitch he faced from Chicago starter Dylan Cease. His first home run of the season came on Friday.
He retired three of the first four White Sox batters he faced.
Ohtani is just the third pitcher over the last 45 seasons to bat for himself in a game with the designated hitter available. Ohtani is also the first pitcher to bat second for a team since Jack Dunleavy did it for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1903.
Ohtani has compiled just 53 innings as a pitcher since making his American major league debut in 2018. He underwent Tommy John surgery following his rookie season.
The Angels said at the start of the season that they are committed to using him as a two-way player.
Ohtani left the game after colliding at home plate with a White Sox runner in the fifth inning, but the Angels released a statement saying he was not seriously hurt on the play.
