Once the Los Angeles Angels conclude their three-game series against the Houston Astros on Sunday, they head to Arlington to face off against the American League West-leading Texas Rangers. Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani was the projected starter for Wednesday’s finale in the series, but that is no longer the case.
Ohtani has been dealing with fatigue on the mound for several weeks and it has become a topic of conversation after every start. And despite the fact that Ohtani has tossed 20.1 consecutive scoreless innings, his numbers have dipped slightly.
He has a 3.57 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in his last six starts (35.1 innings), which would be strong numbers for most pitchers in the Majors, but not for Ohtani. In his first 16 starts of the season, he had a 3.02 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
Now, Ohtani has decided that — to help get him through the rest of the season — it’s for the best that he take one start off. He will not start on Wednesday against the Rangers and will instead make his next scheduled start, likely against the Cincinnati Reds in Anaheim.
Angels manager Phil Nevin was in full support of Ohtani’s decision, saying that trusting the player is the most important thing, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“Like I’ve told you guys many times, he knows his body better than anybody,” Nevin said. “I trust him when he talks about it. He assured me there’s no pain, no injury. He’s got some regular arm fatigue that pitchers go through at times. I trust him when he tells me this and that he’ll be ready for his next time out.”
Nevin also alleviated any fears of Ohtani being injured, saying that his performance at the plate is an indication that this is simply fatigue and nothing else.
“He’s fine,” Nevin said. “Hitting is not affecting anything. I saw some signs in last night’s game. The ball he hit late in the game, not many guys hit the ball harder than that. He feels good and healthy at the plate. It’s just throwing, he has some normal fatigue.”
Ohtani knows his limits better than most players, and he has to given all that’s asked of him by the Angels. For him to say he needs to skip a start means he was not going to be at his best on Wednesday regardless. Now, the Angels can formulate a plan to get to Ohtani’s next start with a few days notice.
Starters against the Rangers
Patrick Sandoval and Lucas Giolito are penciled in as the starters on Monday and Tuesday in Texas. Ohtani skipping his start means that the Angels have a decision for Wednesday. They activated Griffin Canning from the injured list on Sunday morning, but with Chase Silseth getting the start in Houston, that could lead to a natural start for Canning on Wednesday.
Reid Detmers is the scheduled starter for Friday, but it’s possible his start is skipped as well after some recent struggles.
