Angels’ Shohei Ohtani Nearly Completes Historic Cycle as Starting Pitcher
To no one’s surprise, Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani almost etched his name into the history books (again) during Thursday’s afternoon contest versus the Oakland Athletics.
The Japanese two-way star took the hill against the rebuilding A’s, making his sixth start of the season while also hitting third in the Angels’ lineup behind fellow generational superstar Mike Trout. And the 2021 AL MVP wasted little time to make his presence known.
Ohtani cruised through Oakland’s first three hitters, recording a spotless first inning on just nine pitches. Then, after Taylor Ward and Trout failed to reach base in the bottom half, he posted his first of three hits on the day – a 57.6-mph single.
Back on the mound, the 28-year-old continued his dominance in the second and third innings, retiring the first nine batters he faced. Thus, he entered the fourth flirting with a perfect game, which sadly ended as he struggled with his command, allowing five runs – including two home runs – in the inning.
With the game tied 5-5, Ohtani regrouped and settled in over the next two innings, allowing just one baserunner before exiting after the sixth. Aside from one poor inning, the explosive righty excelled as he finished with eight strikeouts and 15 swings and misses.
Though Ohtani’s perfect-game bid came up short, he still had a chance at history on the other side of the ball, needing a home run to complete the cycle in the eighth inning.
Following an RBI double in the third inning and a triple in the sixth, the left-handed slugger sent a fly ball to centre field during his final at-bat that appeared deep enough to clear the wall. But, unfortunately, Esteury Ruiz tracked it down on the warning track.
If it left the yard, Ohtani would’ve been the first pitcher to hit for the cycle since 1888 and the first starting pitcher to accomplish that feat. Jimmy Ryan of the Chicago White Stockings pitched in relief and hit for the cycle on July 28, 1888.
It also would’ve been Ohtani’s second career cycle after his first one came against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 13, 2019 – a game he went 4-for-4 with three extra-base hits and three RBIs.
But missing out on his second by only a few feet is something he likely won’t forget any time soon.
Ohtani’s main focus, however, wasn’t to make history in game No. 26 of the season. It was to hit a home run with two runners on base, which would’ve extended his team’s 8-7 lead.
While most Angels fans leaped out of their seats, thinking he had done just that, the two-time All-Star knew by the sound the ball made off his bat it didn’t have the distance to travel over the centre-field wall.
“It was off the end, so I knew it wasn’t gone off the bat,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “I just wish it would have gone out, because we had runners on base. That’s all I was thinking about.”
Still, even without Ohtani’s historic home run, Los Angeles secured an 8-7 victory over Oakland, earning the 6-foot-4 hurler his fourth win of the season. His bumpy fourth inning raised his season results, though he still carries a sub-two ERA and a .102 OPP AVG, the lowest through a pitcher’s first six starts since 1916.
Offensively, the former Silver Slugger is hitting .278/.343/.526 with six home runs, 17 RBIs and a 136 wRC+ across 25 games this season. With his 0.9 fWAR rating as a pitcher, combined with his 0.6 as a hitter, he has been worth 1.5 fWAR thus far.
The Angels, however, sit one game back of a playoff spot with a 14-12 record and could potentially entertain trade offers on Ohtani – a free agent after this season – if they fall out of contention.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Mogami Kariya. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.