Shohei Ohtani rewards Angels with 1-hit shutout, 2 home runs as Los Angeles runs risk with keeping him
It didn’t take long for Shohei Ohtani to reward the Angels — at least in the short-term — for apparently deciding not to trade him.
Hours after Sports Illustrated reported Los Angeles plans to keep the impending free agent through the season, Ohtani pitched the first complete-game shutout of his career Thursday, holding Detroit to only one hit in the first game of a doubleheader.
Then in the second game, Ohtani slugged two home runs as a hitter.
The dominant performances marked the latest highlights in a season full of them for the two-way sensation, who improved to 9-5 as a pitcher and whose 38 homers lead all MLB batters. He became the first player to pitch a shutout and hit two home runs on the same day since Sonny Seibert did so in a single game in 1971, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Until recently, many believed the Angels would shop Ohtani, 29, who is expected to command a record contract exceeding $500 million this offseason. Los Angeles entered the All-Star break at 45-46 and, even with a strong start to the second half, remains three games out of the third and final American League wild card spot.
It’s a controversial decision by the Angels, who now risk losing the sport’s most exciting and incomparable player for nothing if he signs elsewhere. Following Thursday’s doubleheader sweep, which improved Los Angeles to 54-49, the Angels still only had a 22.5% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
On the other hand, there’s something to be said for making one last run with Ohtani, who didn’t qualify for the postseason in his first five seasons with the Angels. At worst, it’s a farewell tour for Angels fans who haven’t had much to cheer for beyond the Japanese superstar in recent years. At best, the Angels stay hot, get Mike Trout back from a hand fracture and sneak into the playoffs with two MVP winners in their lineup.
The Angels — who need to jump the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox to clinch the last wild card spot — established themselves as buyers Wednesday night by trading with the White Sox for starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez. Giolito, 29, is just 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA this season but has finished in the top 11 of Cy Young voting three times.
“I think this is the first time in my six years that we’ve been buyers,” Ohtani said Thursday, according to The Athletic. “We’ve been sellers the last five years. So this is new to me. I just want to get to know the new guys and welcome them in and compete all together.”
The Angels may have more moves to come before the Aug. 1 deadline, but it doesn’t sound like trading Ohtani will be one of them.
