The Los Angeles Angels unfortunately fell to the Chicago White Sox in a 9-7 loss on Thursday, but it was Shohei Ohtani and his ninth inning blast which made a bit of history.
Ohtani recently won the American League Player of the Week for the week of June 17, and has done nothing but continue his run of ridiculous play.
The two-way phenom found himself up to the plate with a runner on in the final frame, and deposited a two-strike pitch over the left-center field wall for a home run.
It marked his 14th home run in the month of June, setting an Angels record for homers in a single calendar month. He also slugged one more homer on the last day of June to give him 15 total.
During the month, Ohtani has posted a league-leading 279 wRC+ with a 1.444 OPS, including 29 RBI and 27 runs scored. He’s reached base at an unbelievable .492 on-base clip, which also leads all of Major League Baseball.
In comparison, Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins has a .412 batting average in the month of June, besting Ohtani’s .394 clip. However, while Arraez has slugged .520, Ohtani has a .952 slugging percentage.
The 28-year-old is set to start in the All-Star Game as the designated hitter for the American League after leading in fan voting during Phase 1.
In addition, he is scheduled to become a free agent following the season and the Angels have a competitive roster pushing for the playoffs, so it’s an ideal time to have his best year at the plate.
Shohei Ohtani scheduled to make next start despite fingernail issue
As Ohtani continues to impress with his unbelievable bat, on the mound, his game has continued to improve. In his last two starts, he’s allowed just two earned runs over 13.1 innings pitched, while racking up 22 strikeouts.
Thankfully, the Angels and Ohtani escaped without big injury news during his most recent start against the Chicago White Sox after he was taken out after 6.1 innings pitched. It was revealed that he suffered a broken fingernail, but he or the club deemed it to be an issue going forward.
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