The Los Angeles Angels earned a 9-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a four-game series that saw Shohei Ohtani display his talents on both sides of the ball.
Ohtani logged seven innings for a second consecutive start and allowed five runs on four hits (three home runs) with five strikeouts against two walks.
Ohtani also went 4-for-5 with a triple, home run, three RBI and walk, falling a double short of the cycle. He became the first starting pitcher since 1964 to reach base five times in a game.
When told about the achievement, Ohtani downplayed it, noting the small sample size of pitchers who have the same hitting ability, per Noah Trister of the L.A. Times:
Ohtani became the first starting pitcher since 1964 to reach base five times in a game as the Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-5 on Monday night.
“I’m sure all those records come because the sample size is so small, so I don’t really look too deeply into it,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Mike Trout drew a walk that gave Ohtani one more opportunity to hit for the cycle. He ended up singling to left field but was grateful for the chance:
No starting pitcher has ever hit for the cycle, according to Sportradar.
“I was definitely happy to see that walk give me a shot for the cycle,” Ohtani said. “But I failed.”
While Ohtani fell just short of the cycle, it seems inevitable he will eventually accomplish the feat someday. The 28-year-old nevertheless became the first pitcher since Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees to reach base five times in a game.
Ohtani is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season as he’s hitting .296/.369/.541 with eight doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 29 RBI across 184 plate appearances (41 games).
On the mound, he is 5-1 with a 3.23 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 0.91 WHIP and 12.1 strikeouts per nine in 53 innings pitched (nine starts).
Angels’ Shohei Ohtani passed Babe Ruth for another MLB record
In Ohtani’s previous start against the Houston Astros, he recorded seven strikeouts, giving him 507 for his career. That passed Babe Ruth’s total of 488.
According to Elias Sports, Ohtani’s 507 career strikeouts is the most among players to hit at least 100 home runs in MLB history.
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