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Enjoy this while you can, on days when it’s airy at the same time Angel’s playground He feels full of magical potential because Shuhei Ohtani He pulls double duty on the curb mound and at the plate.
Days like Sunday, when he scored nine and grabbed just two for the Minnesota Twins’ Major League Central champion in a six-inning performance that was remarkable by every measure besides his performance. And that doesn’t take into account a single on center in the first inning and an intentional walk he drew in the fifth inning Ultimate Angels victory 4-2.
with Ohtani’s contract expires After this season and his ability as a free agent to seek — and acquire — not just the moon but perhaps a small galaxy, there may not be many occasions in Anaheim for admiring understated accomplishments on Sunday even as his teammates conceded they feel it made history. He hovers over them when it’s his turn to spin.
left player said “every time” Mickey Moniac, whose two runs in the seventh inning on Sunday gave the Angels a 3-1 lead. “It’s no secret, he’s one of the most, if not the most outstanding, players in baseball, and every time he’s out on the mound he may be out seven times.” [innings]10 strikes, and you get three strikes, or who knows what will happen?
“But I think it’s definitely special to be able to play behind him, and that’s something I’ll be able to talk about someday when I’m old and in a rocking chair.”
Old age is a long way off for the Encinitas native Moniac, who turned 25 earlier this month. But it may take a long time for another otani to come along.
If only the Angels had made a winning team around Ohtani W Mike TroutNot only have the club’s directors been spending a lot of money, they’ve spent it well on good promotion, better revolutions, and in other key areas, it may not seem like an inevitability that Ohtani will go after this season. He wants to win. The Angels have not reached the postseason since 2014, four years before they made their major league debut. Perhaps the sunshine and being near Disneyland are not enough attractions for Ohtani to give up his competitiveness and decide to stay with a losing team.
On Sunday, he was diplomatic, as usual, when asked how the Angels this year (25-23) differ from a team that was 73-89 last season and finished hopelessly 33 games behind the division winner. Houston.
“There aren’t many losses where we don’t have a chance to win, so I think that’s the best thing. We play hard until the end and don’t give up,” he told Japanese reporters. “I think it’s because there’s a good atmosphere. I said this before, but we lost [Saturday] We have a lot of chances to win.”
Otani’s performance on Sunday gave them a shot at winning, though he didn’t get the decision. 142 and ranks third in strikeouts (80) and tied for fourth in WHIP (walks and strikeouts per inning), at 0.90. He is 5-1 in 10 starts, but in two of those no-decisions he gave up one run and gave up no runs. Oakland In his first start, on March 30th.
He said through translator Ippei Mizuhara that he had a plan against Minnesota. He went with the cutter more than he had used in previous starts because he had a good feel for it. Same for his broom, and he and the hunter Chad Wallach They have been modified to make them feel comfortable. Ohtani said it will take time for him and Wallack to be on the same page with this court, “so I think going forward, he should get better and better.”
His effort was, if not historic, an impressive turnaround from his previous four starts, as he gave up 17 earned runs in 25 innings at an average of 6.12. His afternoon after Sunday was 3.05. Manager Phil Niven said he wasn’t worried about Ohtani during that difficult period.
“I think if you look around the league, a lot of aces, if you will, have had us a little bit of trouble as we arrived in May. They’ve had a few outings,” Nivin said. “Shohei is no different. He’s human. If you look at the board I think it’s about 3 right [in ERA]. It kept us in the games. He’s won five times and we’ve won the majority of his matches so, no, I’m not worried at all.”
Meanwhile, each appearance of Otani carries an added resonance of being among his last in an angel costume.
“Any time he’s on the field, there’s a chance that something special will happen, to be honest,” Wallach said. “That’s how good a player he is.”
Enjoy it as an angel while you still can.
This story originally appeared Los Angeles Times.
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