A 2nd look at Ohtani
The A’s knew little about Shohei Ohtani before the season-opening series. They know an awful lot more now about the Angels’ pitcher-hitter.
“He’s kind of living up to the billing at this point, which is tough to live up to,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “It seems he’s the real deal on both sides of it.”
Ohtani will take the mound Sunday in Anaheim against the A’s, exactly a week after he won his pitching debut in Oakland. He threw six innings in that one and made just one big mistake, the slider Matt Chapman hit for a three-run homer.
What do the A’s know of Ohtani now that they didn’t know then?
“He throws pretty hard. He’s got a good split. He throws one more pitch, maybe, than we expected,” Melvin said. “I think we were thinking more fastballsplit, and he threw some sliders — and some slower ones — and curveballs, too. So it’s a full arsenal that he has.”
“My understanding,” Melvin added, “is he’s been swinging the bat pretty well.”
Indeed. Ohtani left Oakland 1-for-5 and now is 6-for-14 (.429) after collecting five hits (including two homers) the past two days, Wednesday’s coming off Cleveland’s Corey Kluber, who won the AL Cy Young Award last year.
Ohtani doesn’t bat in games before and after he pitches, so he’d be available to be the designated hitter in Friday’s opener. The A’s hope for better results when Ohtani pitches Sunday.
“You have more understanding,” Melvin said. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to have more success, but you do feel a little bit more comfortable with how he’s going to attack you.” Favorable schedule: The A’s will spend nearly a week in Southern California. After their three-game series in Anaheim, they play two at Dodger Stadium.
“Very convenient,” Melvin said. “Other than the 11 games to start (without a day off ), this is the best schedule we’ve had.”
It helps the A’s play the National League West in interleague play, will see both Texas teams in a late April trip and have less overall zigzagging across the country. Briefly: Outfielder Stephen Piscotty, who’s 4-for-23, wasn’t in the lineup. Melvin called it a simple day off. “He’s out there doing his thing. Sometimes you go through rough spots. I don’t think he’s over-trying or anything like that,” Melvin said . ... If the rotation holds, pitchers Sean Manaea and Daniel Mengden would get at-bats in the Dodgers’ series. Combined, they’re 1-for-13; in September, Mengden singled in Philadelphia, where he threw a two-hit shutout, Oakland’s only complete game of the season . ... The A’s announced they’re giving away tickets for the June 10 game to people affected by the Wine Country fires. The team will honor first responders and firefighters. John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer.