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Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani has had a blistering start to the 2023 season, turning in his best performance on the pitching mound on Friday night.
The Angels superstar produced seven magnificent shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals. He held them to merely two singles and two walks, and striking out 11 in his team's 2-0 win against the Royals. Moreover, Ohtani garnered 22 swings and misses, the fourth most in a game by any pitcher this season.
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"Last 3 pitching starts for the @Angels' Shohei Ohtani: At plate: 4 hits On mound: 3 hits allowed. He's the first MLB pitcher to have more hits at the plate than he allowed on the mound over a 3-start span (min. 15 IP) since Detroit's Schoolboy Rowe from July 28 to August 7, 1934," OptaSTATS, Twitter.
Angels catcher Chad Wallach reserved high praise for his teammate, describing Ohtani's performance with the ball as "the best stuff" he's ever seen. He also thanked Ohtani for making his job easier.
"It's probably the best stuff I've ever seen. It's fun for me to sit back there and just catch pitches," Chad Wallach told MLB.com following the game.
Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin enjoyed the vintage performance, too, describing the first innings as the most dominant he has seen in a while.
"It was just a vintage performance," Angels manager Phil Nevin told MLB.com about Ohtani's outing Friday. "That first inning was as dominant as I've seen at this level, really."
Shohei Ohtani's pitching numbers this season have been astounding
Shohei Ohtani's pitching numbers this season through five starts have simply been marvelous.
His opponents have hit .092/.248/.115 against him in 105 plate appearances, and he has allowed no more than three hits in each start. Astounding for a two-way prodigy.
His brilliance on the pitching mound has been the sheer opposite of his form the last two seasons. In 2021, Ohtani was great on the mound and outstanding as a hitter. In 2022, it was just the opposite.
Ohtani, who's due to become a free agent at the end of the year, will hope to put together an impeccable year with both his batting and pitching, and he couldn't have got a better start.
