ANAHEIM – A series of wild events caused Los Angeles two-way star Shohei Ohtani to uncomfortably land on the plate of White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu on Sunday night in a Halos match. they would win, 7-4, with a key for a pair of Jared Walsh home runs, including a three-run shot in the ninth.
But fortunately for Ohtani, who left the game after the play, he was diagnosed with general pain and is considered day to day. Angels manager Joe Maddon also clarified that Ohtani would have left the game even if the play at home had not taken place, as he had already pitched 92 pitches. Ohtani had a limit of 80-90 pitches in his first start of the year.
“I feel good now,” Ohtani said through performer Ippei Mizuhara. “When the collision occurred at home, the impact was quite large. I couldn’t get up right away. Over time, I feel better.
With Yoán Moncada on the plate and Ohtani seeming to be nearing the end of his outing, Maddon didn’t take out his two-way star ahead of AL MVP winner Abreu, nor did he take it off after Ohtani did. a walk through the slugger, but with another exit to count to finish the entrance, chaos erupted when the right-hander appeared to escape a traffic jam.
Ohtani fired a shot that hit catcher Max Stassi, but Moncada turned it in for a third and rushed to the first base of the third offense rule. Stassi picked up the ball past and tried to throw a throw to first, but was off target, allowing Moncada and Adam Eaton to score.
Then, David Fletcher’s shot towards Ohtani, which was covering the plate at home in an attempt to capture Abreu on his way to score the shot, was also left out of the goal, and the pitcher was forced to stretch. se on the toes to try (and fail)) to corral the ball. The moment provoked a terrifying situation for the angels, as Abreu slipped into the ankles of Ohtani and knocked him down completely. In apparent pain, Ohtani hit the ground, but was finally able to leave the field under his own power.
“I can’t pinpoint exactly where he hit me, but he basically pulled my legs out,” Ohtani said. “I guess it’s somewhere in my calf. When I landed there, it was kind of a pillow for me. So the impact was not as bad as it seemed. “
The angels came out of the entrance unscathed, as Steve Cishek replaced Ohtani and caused Yermín Mercedes to leave the pitch.
Maddon was happy to see that Ohtani was fine after the play, but said he would not be in training as the DH of the opening series against the Astros on Monday after playing in all four games of the series as DH and launch on Sunday.
“I think what he did today and that are four in a row and after double service tonight, I will definitely spend it tomorrow,” Maddon said. “But I think he’d be available to pinch.”