Anaheim, California – Shohei Ohtani follows strict rules in almost every aspect of his life. When his latest mound start was delayed by 12 minutes at the Angels’ pregame ceremony honoring the 2002 World Series champions, his meticulous preparation took a big hit before he could throw the pitch.
The slightly rough start was the second incredible night in a row for a two-way superstar.
Ohtani hit a career-high 13 runs in eight dominant innings of two-hit balls and the AL MVP reached the bottom three times in Los Angeles’ 5-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
After giving up two singles to start the first innings, Ohtani (6-4) retired from the Royals’ 16 and 23 of the last 24. Matching the longest start of his major league career, he allowed only one baseman in his last seven innings – on a quick wipe out of a double game.
“I think the biggest thing was to make it zero in the first inning after dropping the first two shots,” Ohtani said through his translator. “I was able to do that and he set the tone of the game. I wanted to go as far as possible, but I wasn’t thinking about the number of pitches at the start of the game. ”
Against the backdrop of a rare Southern California lightning storm that illuminates the sky beyond the central region in the Big A, Ohtani had single and two walks in the plate in his latest two-way performance of electrification.
Ohtani hit two three-run homers one night and hit a career-high eight in the extra innings, setting a new personal best for the strikeouts by fanning Emmanuel Rivera on his 108th and final pitch.
“He put us on his back,” said Phil Nevin, Angels’ interim manager. “I tried to remember him, and he insisted: ‘No. This is mine I live. ‘दिवस What a day. How much is his performance? ”
David McKinnon got his first major league hit for the Angels at number seven with an RBI singles, avoiding a series sweep with his fourth win in six games in total. McKinnon hit that single-to-right before Lewis Rangipho doubled the RBI to seventh, the first RBI of his career to get a two-innings first with a sacrificial fly.
After scoring 18 runs in the last two games at Angel Stadium, the Royals closed for the second time in four days and for the 10th time this season. Kansas City still have five wins out of seven.
“It was an exhibition,” said Royals manager Mike Matheny. “It simply came to our notice then. I don’t think you’ll find people with as many weapons as you see today. He was throwing three different sliders, as well as cutters and curves. When it started to split, there were really strikeouts, and he got 100 (mph) in the tank which he never showed. It’s going to be a tough day at the plate. “
Ohtani has been unbeaten on the mound lately, giving up just one run from three starts in the last 20 innings. In his most recent home debut two weeks ago, he played seven innings of one-run ball and won the Angels franchise-record 14-game skid.
Whit Maryfield and Andrew Benitendi singled in the Royals’ first two bat against Ohtani, but then dropped every bat they faced until the sixth-ranked Maryfield had a one-out walk – and Benitendi quickly got into the doubles game.
Ohtani’s fastball spun twice in his opening second half at 99 mph and stunned Kansas City with 34 combined strikes on swing-and-miss or call strike.
Daniel Lynch (3-7) was not as effective for the Royals at the start, but the left-hander stopped the Angels with resources until he loaded the base at number five on two walks and an infield singles. Lynch, who left after McKinnon’s sacrificial fly, dropped three hits and five walks on his career-high 104 pitches.
Mike Trout got a day off for the Angels, their struggling lineup definitely lacked a referee. But McKinnon came on as the team’s unlikely cleanup hitter, his first major league hit since being called for his MLB debut last weekend.
McKinnon was pleased with his successful swings, but other aspects of the game also thrilled him.
“I want to play behind Shohai and see how good he is,” McKinnon said. “It’s crazy to live here.”
