One side of the blade of Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels), a “double sword”, has become dull.
On the 22nd (Korean time), Ohtani took the mound as a starting pitcher in a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates of the Major League (MLB) held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA.
In the beginning of the 4th inning, he allowed Choi Ji-man, a “Korean big leaguer”, a solo home run, followed by a back-to-back home run to Henry Davis. In the beginning of the 5th inning, leading 5-2, Jack Swinsky hit a two-run home run, and Davis allowed one more in the 6th inning. 바카라
Ohtani, who received 8 points from the other team, won his 8th win (5 losses) in the season with the Angels winning 8-5. It is also the first time Ohtani has hit two homers in one game by one batter (Davis).
Ohtani, who serves as both pitcher and hitter, is at the forefront of the 2023 American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) race. In the 89 games he played as a hitter in the first half, his OPS, the sum of his batting average of 0.302, 32 homers, 71 RBIs, on-base percentage (0.387) and slugging percentage (0.663), left 1.050. 1st in home runs and OPS. In 17 games as a starting pitcher, he recorded 7 wins, 4 losses, an average ERA of 3.32, and 132 strikeouts, leaving good results.
He also broke the waiting list. Ohtani surpassed 100 hits and 100 strikeouts in the first half, becoming the first player in MLB history to achieve this record for three consecutive seasons. In a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 4, he struck out 13 and broke 500 strikeouts in his career, becoming the second player in history to record more than 100 home runs and 500 strikeouts after MLB legend Babe Ruth (501 strikeouts-714 home runs).
As a hitter, he is hot even in the second half. He hit home runs in three consecutive games, starting before the Houston Astros in the 16th and before the New York Yankees in the 18th. In the bottom of the ninth inning against Houston on the 17th, when he was losing 7-9, he drew an arch to pursue with a one-run lead, and in the bottom of the 7th inning against the New York Yankees on the 18th, he hit a two-run home run to tie the game 3-3. Ohtani has hit 18 home runs this season only in close games that have tied or lost the lead by less than three points. He continues to display outstanding clutch abilities. Ohtani, who hit his 36th home run in the game against Pittsburgh on the 24th, widened his gap with Matt Olsen (Atlanta Braves) to 4 and is moving closer to becoming the home run king.
On the other hand, the pace dropped sharply on the mound. On the 5th against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani gave up 5 runs on 7 hits (2 home runs) in 5 innings, and against Houston on the 15th, he gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings (4 earned runs). He gave up five or more points in three consecutive July games. His earned run average, which had been 3.02 through June, soared to 3.71.
Ohtani’s four-seam fastball (fastball) average velocity, which was 155.8 km/h as of June, fell slightly to 154.2 km/h in July. The game against San Diego on the 5th was only 153km/h. In three games in July, Ohtani’s fastball batting average was 0.348.
His cut fastball and sweeper led to a lot of long hits. In the bottom of the fourth inning against San Diego on the 5th, Jake Cronenworth’s two-run, right-handed double hit the cutter in the middle. At the end of the 6th inning, Two Run Four, hit by Xander Bogarts, was a sweeper with the 2nd pitch. In the 2-2 situation at the beginning of the 5th inning against Houston on the 15th, the reverse double hit allowed to Kyle Tucker was also hit by the cutter. In the match against Pittsburgh, two cutters and one sweeper led to a home run.
Ohtani is continuing the AL MVP solo system with only his batting record. However, he, who has increased his value with his pitching and hitting jobs, is shaking on the mound by giving up 5 points in 3 consecutive games for the first time in his debut.