Ohtani to make mound return in Sunday’s series finale
Baseball’s version of Beatlemania is coming to Minute Maid Park on Sunday night. Shohei
Ohtani, the Angels’ two-way phenom, will take the mound against the Astros for his first start since an elbow injury derailed his magical season on June 6.
Armed with a 100 mph fastball and disappearing splitter, Ohtani, 24, had a 3.10 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 491⁄3 innings before he was shut down on the mound after nine starts.
He appeared to be the righthanded second coming of Babe
Ruth until an MRI revealed a Grade 2 sprain in the ulnar collateral ligament of his pitching elbow. A tear of the UCL typically necessitates Tommy John surgery, but Ohtani, 24, instead received both a platelet-rich plasma treatment and stem cell injection for his sprain.
He went on the disabled list and returned after a month to continue batting as a designated hitter. He entered Thursday’s game hitting .275 with 15 homers, 43 RBIs, six stolen bases and an .898 OPS.
Before the inevitable anticipation of the Japanese sensation reaches a fever pitch, Angels manager Mike Scioscia tried before Thursday’s game against the Astros to tamper expectations that Ohtani will pick up where he left off.
The Angels have not confirmed specifics for how many pitches Ohtani will throw Sunday or how many starts he will make before the season ends.
“This is going to be fluid,” Scioscia said. “We’ll see the frequency that he will get out there.”
The Angels have little else to play for right now. The thrill of Ohtani’s arrival dominated the start of their season, and the intrigue of his return will define the end of it.
Devenski returns with altered role
Now that reliever Chris Devenski has returned to the Astros from a hamstring injury that cost him more than a month of play, manager A.J. Hinch suggested the righthander’s role will change.
Devenski, 27, quietly emerged as one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers in high-leverage situations the past two seasons. His ability to pitch two innings of relief when necessary and handle hitters from both sides of the plate proved invaluable to Hinch when the rest of the bullpen was shaky.
Devenski has struck out 44 batters in 382⁄3 innings this season, but his 4.19 ERA alludes to his less effective third season in the majors. Righthanded hitters have foiled him. After batting .177 off Devenski’s elite changeup and .211 of his hard slider in 2017, they are hitting .286 and .357 off those pitches this season.
Other relievers filled the void left when Devenski faltered and, more recently, when he went on the disabled list. Collin McHugh and Hector Rondon have been solid all season. Sidearmer Joe
Smith has restored his effectiveness. And Hinch has made new additions Alex Pressly and
Roberto Osuna go-to guys in close games.
In August, these righties have held righthanded hitters to a .169 average.
Now that the Astros have that covered, Hinch likely will dispatch Devenski against lefthanded hitters (who are batting .241 off him) and in games that require a reliever throw multiple innings.
September call-ups will also add more bodies to the bullpen and increase chances for the regulars to rest up for the playoffs.
Lightening the workload for Devenski might better his chances of returning to form.
The numbers from his minor league rehab assignment are unimpressive — he allowed 11 hits, including two homers, to 25 batters faced for a 7.71 ERA — but Hinch said the “carry” on Devenski’s fastball looked almost as good as it ever has, which will be critical for increasing the effectiveness of his changeup.
“He showed some good characteristics in his last outing,” Hinch said.
The majors will be the best test of Devenski’s quality as the postseason approaches.
“I need to get him back into the flow of things, which means I need to get him into a game quickly,” Hinch said.
Hinch mulls options for Saturday starter
Astros manager A. J. Hinch has not yet named a starter for Saturday’s game against the Angels.
The Astros have several options on how to fill the void
Charlie Morton left when he went on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder discomfort.
The expansion of rosters on Saturday could open the chance for minor leaguers Rogelio
Armenteros or Josh James, who has his scheduled spot in the Class AAA Grizzlies’ rotation that day. Brady R odgers is another candidate, but as of Thursday afternoon, he remained scheduled to start Thursday night.
Hinch did not rule out using a member of the major league bullpen such as Collin McHugh.
“We’re going over the different candidates,” Hinch said. “We also need to see where our bullpen is for the next day. We know we’re going to add some guys on Saturday. I need to see how today goes and how our bullpen is taxed.”
The previous series against the Athletics exhausted the bullpen and made Hinch’s options less clear. Still, the decision is made easier because of the expanded rosters.
“I’ll use the guys aggressively knowing that we have some capable bodies,” Hinch said. “You’re not worried about running out of pitching when it gets to September.”
Whitley slated for Arizona Fall League
Pitcher Forrest Whitley, the Astros’ top-rated minor leaguer, headlines the list of the franchise’s prospects heading to the Arizona Fall League.
The others are outfielder Myles Straw, third baseman Abraham Toro, and pitchers
Trent Thornton, Erasmo Pinales and J.B. Bukauskas.
After serving his 50-game suspension for a violation of Minor League Baseball’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, Whitley has pitched just 261⁄3 innings this season. On Tuesday, right lat discomfort landed the 6-7 righthander on the minor league disabled list for the second time in 2018.