Shohei Ohtani wins his pitching debut, leads the Angels over A's 7-4
Shohei Ohtani could exhale, at last having made it through a whirlwind week and not one, but two separate debuts in the big leagues.
He got his first career hit, then three days later earned a win on the mound. Souvenir balls for each occasion.
Impressing manager Mike Scioscia with both his poise and repertoire, the two-way star from Japan won his major league pitching debut. He threw three-hit ball over six innings and led the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 7-4 on Sunday at Oakland.
"Personally I feel like I got off to a good start and obviously the team went 3-1 on the first road trip, so I'm very happy with the results," Ohtani said through a translator.
After being the designated hitter in the opener, he expected to be far more nervous to pitch. It didn't show.
Reaching the upper 90s (mph) with his fastball and keeping the A's guessing with a nifty splitter, Ohtani struck out six and retired 14 of his final 15 batters.
He didn't hit while pitching, as Albert Pujols was the DH and went 0 for 5. Ohtani (1-0) pounded his glove following a 1-2-3 shutdown fifth. He walked one, and the only damage against him came on Matt Chapman's three-run homer in the second.
The 23-year-old righty briefly removed his cap and looked to the sky after the drive, then went back to work and blanked the A's the rest of the way.
"After that three-run shot, Scioscia came up to me and said I'm doing fine," Ohtani said.
Ohtani began the season-opening series by hitting a single on the first pitch he saw as a big leaguer, part of a 1-for-5 day at the plate. He capped the set by posting his first win.
Not too shabby, considering he struggled in spring training with his arm and bat. He went 0-1 with a 27.00 ERA in a pair of Cactus League outings and wound up pitching against minor leaguers on back fields, and also had trouble making contact with his swing.
Ohtani became the first player since Babe Ruth for the Boston Red Sox in 1919 to start on opening day in a non-pitching role, then also start on the mound in the initial 10 games.