Ohtani avoids injury, makes more history

He joins Babe Ruth as the only MLB players with 10 wins and 10 homers in one season.

OAKLAND — Shohei Ohtani withstood another injury scare and pitched six scoreless innings to go with his team-leading 25th home run, reaching yet another monumental milestone as the Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Tuesday.

The two-way star joined Babe Ruth (1918) as the only players in major league history to have at least 10 home runs and 10 wins in the same season. According to the Angels, two players from the Negro Leagues also did it: Bullet Rogan of the 1922 Kansas City Monarchs and Ed Rile of the 1927 Detroit Stars.

Ohtani singled and scored on Taylor Ward’s three-run homer in the fifth, then connected for a towering drive off Sam Selman leading off the seventh as a throng of red-clad fans sitting behind the Angels dugout roared.

On the mound, Ohtani (10-7) had five strikeouts and retired seven of his final eight batters.

The reigning AL MVP almost didn’t make it out of the third.

Two days after being spiked on top of his left foot after a collision with Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzalez near the on-deck circle, Ohtani was hit near the same area by an 87-mph line drive by Ramon Laureano.

After making the play for the final out of the inning, Ohtani bent at the waist in discomfort and then limped slowly off the field. He returned to the field a few moments later to test his leg, and stayed in the game.