Shohei Ohtani was scheduled to make his next start as a pitcher on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, but no longer will take the mound during the series.
The two-way star, who has been dealing with arm fatigue, asked Angels manager Phil Nevin if he could skip a start and now will make his next outing on either August 21 or 22 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Lucas Giolito is now expected to start in Ohtani’s place against the Rangers. Patrick Sandoval will take the mound in the series opener and Griffin Canning could pitch in the finale.
Angels manager Phil Nevin stressed that the decision to skip Ohtani’s next start is for rest purposes and not because of an injury, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“He really got into that one today,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “I thought the swings were great. This has nothing to do with his hitting. It’s not an injury. He’s just tired. If you were to sign me up for him missing only one start throughout the season, I’d be the first one to raise my hand.”
Ohtani has been largely healthy this season as he has only missed one other start. However, the 29-year-old has previously dealt with blister issues and left his start against the Seattle Mariners on August 3 due to cramping in his right middle finger.
While it will be a week before Ohtani takes the mound again, he is not expected to need time off at designated hitter. He enters play Monday batting .305/.408/.665 with 20 doubles, seven triples, 41 home runs and 84 RBI in 117 games this season.
Shohei Ohtani scoreless inning streak with Angels
On the mound, Ohtani is 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.06 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine in 130.2 innings pitched (22 starts). He currently has a scoreless streak of 20.1 consecutive innings over his last four starts.