Having demonstrated his prowess on the mound, Shohei Ohtani will get another opportunity to pad his gaudy batting numbers when the Los Angeles Angels visit the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday afternoon.
After getting Monday off as a rest on the eve of a pitching start, Ohtani dominated the A’s both with his arm and bat in a 5-1 victory Tuesday night.
While the right-handed pitcher was shutting out the hosts on four hits over six innings, he was helping his own cause by scoring twice, one after a single and the other on his 25th home run of the season.
The night was memorable for more than just Ohtani pitching and homering in the same game for the second time this season. The win was his 10th of the year, making him the first player since Babe Ruth in 1918 to have 10 wins and 10 homers in the same year.
Ohtani also got nailed on the left leg by a line drive off the bat of Ramon Laureano in the third inning but was able to stay in the game. Coupled with having been spiked atop the left foot Sunday in Seattle, Ohtani was limping at different stages of Tuesday’s win but insisted afterward that he’s fine.
“There’s been some accidents here and there recently,” he said. “But as long as I feel ready to go, I want to play in as many games as possible, hitting and pitching.”
Touki Toussaint (1-0, 4.32 ERA) is slated to get his first Angels start when the visitors go for the sweep on Wednesday.
The right-hander has faced the A’s just once in his career, in relief last Thursday when he allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings in the 8-7 loss.
He’ll see an Oakland squad that has totaled just eight hits in the first two games of the series, with just one — Chad Pinder’s ninth-inning homer Tuesday — going for extra bases.
Despite a fourth straight loss, Oakland manager Mark Kotsay left the ballpark Tuesday more impressed with Ohtani than disappointed in his own team.
“It’s exceptional. It shows his athleticism, shows his talent,” Kotsay said of Ohtani’s 10/10 feat. “At this point, you can say it’s one-of-a-kind in the game, because it is. He’s the only player doing it right now, and doing it well.”
The A’s scratched scheduled starter Paul Blackburn and placed the All-Star right-hander on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his right middle finger.
Oakland called up newly acquired left-hander JP Sears to make his team debut in a spot start. Sears (3-0, 2.05) arrived with three minor league prospects on Aug. 1 in a trade that sent right-handers Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the New York Yankees.
Sears made his MLB debut on April 13 and appeared in seven games with two starts for New York. This will be his first time facing the Angels.
