Angels’ Ohtani finds extra
Shohei Ohtani figured he would be careful in his return to the mound after two injury-spoiled seasons.
A few batters in, the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way sensation reached back for a little extra — and brought back some of the buzz that surrounded his major league debut three years ago.
Ohtani reached 100 mph with his fastball and showed off his signature splitter Friday while striking out five over 1⅔ innings in the Angels’ 73 win over the Oakland Athletics. The right-hander allowed a run, three hits and two walks, struggling to command his slider but showcasing the arm strength and stuff that allowed him to dominate in the majors before Tommy John surgery in 2018.
“Since this was my first game, I wasn’t planning on letting it go in the beginning, especially early in counts,” Ohtani said via translator. “As the game went on, I felt better and I started throwing harder, but I think that led to me cutting the ball a couple times, so it’s something I have to work on.”
The 26-year-old Japanese star stunned baseball with his two-way ability as a rookie in 2018, going 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts and hitting .285 with 22 homers as a designated hitter. He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the season, though, and had Tommy John surgery that October.
Ohtani stayed off the mound in 2019 yet thrived as a full-time designated hitter. But he faltered on both sides of the ball trying to resume his two-way role during the pandemic shortened 2020 season. He struggled in two starts on the mound and put his pitching on hold amid a right forearm/elbow strain. He slumped at the plate, too, hitting .190 with seven homers.
Nationals
Is it really spring here before Max Scherzer climbs the mound, rocks into his windup and, after unleashing a pitch, grunts into a quiet Florida evening? And is it spring for Scherzer until, upon doing so, he has to face questions about how some body part feels?
“The ankle’s been good. I’ve been getting through it. I can pitch at 100
percent on the ankle, so that’s the good news,” Scherzer said after his first appearance of 2021, which was delayed — as you may have guessed — by a sprained left ankle. “I can get through the ball. So no worries on that end tonight.”
The plan was for Scherzer to throw two innings and between 30-35 pitches. He wound up tossing 38 before he was hooked with two outs in the second. In the coming days, as the regular season draws closer, Scherzer will see how his arm and ankle recover. The 36-year-old is no stranger to dealing with minor injuries in February and March. The Nationals, though, are unfamiliar with how to ramp up pitchers after their arms have been started, then stopped, then started and stopped again in the past nine months.
Royals
Outfielder Jarrod Dyson returned to Kansas City, finalizing a $1.5 million, one-year contract. The 36-yearold, who helped the Royals win the 2015 World Series, can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for plate appearances: $50,000 each for 350, 400, 450, 500, and 550. Dyson was a 50thround pick by the Royals in the 2006 amateur draft and played for the Royals from 2010-16. He stole 176
bases, sixth in team history and two behind Frank White. Dyson helped the Royals win the 2014 AL pennant and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth and final game of the 2015 World Series at the New York Mets. He entered in the 12th inning as a pinchrunner following Salvador Pérez’s single and scored on Christian Colón’s single off Addison Reed for a 3-2 lead in a game the Royals won, 72.
Astros
Houston was minus eight pitchers because of COVID-19 protocols, but general manager James Click said there were no plans to pause activity at the team’s spring training camp. Manager Dusty Baker said Friday that pitchers Cristian Javier, Pedro Báez, Francis Martes, Enoli Paredes and Hector Velazquez were out. On Thursday, Baker said pitchers Bryan Abreu, Ronel Blanco and Luis Garcia were sent away from the complex. It was not known whether the eight pitchers had tested positive for the virus or had come in close contact with someone who had tested positive. There was no exact timetable for their return, but they must quarantine for at least a week under Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols.