White Sox outfielder loses something important trying to rob Shohei Ohtani homer
The Chicago White Sox did not have a good day Friday.
It started with the news that top pitching prospect Michael Kopech will almost certainly require Tommy John surgery after suffering a UCL tear in his pitching elbow. It concluded with their 85th loss of the season, a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels. And somewhere in between was Adam Engel’s bid to rob Shohei Ohtani of a home run that turned into an unintentional comedy.
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But really, everything else went just fine.
Adam Engel loses his glove trying to rob a homer
The White Sox center fielder has quickly developed into one of baseball’s premier home run robbers. He has several under his belt already this season, including three in a single week. Unfortunately, he couldn’t add to his total on Friday.
When Ohtani skied a high fly ball to deep center field at Guaranteed Rate Field, Engel pursued with the purpose of bringing the baseball back. Instead, he lost the one thing he needed to make the play. Upon contacting the wall, his glove popped off and dropped over the wall.
The good news is Engel did eventually get his glove back. The bad news for the White Sox is that Ohtani’s ball cleared the wall for a decisive three-run home run.
Shohei Ohtani’s home run makes history
Since learning that Tommy John surgery was recommended on his pitching elbow, Shohei Ohtani has been on a home run hitting tear. Yes, that’s a sentence that would only make sense when discussing the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star, but it’s also very much the reality.
Ohtani has now homered four times in his last three games, which gives him 19 on the season. The home run binge has helped Ohtani make a little history. His 19 homers set an MLB record for a Japanese-born rookie.
#Angels Shohei Ohtani's 19th home run of the season sets a new Major League record for a Japanese-born rookie. Previous was 18 by Kenji Johjima for Seattle in 2006
— Matt Birch (@MattBirch12) September 8, 2018
With Ohtani locked in at the plate, and also deciding to complete the season as a hitter despite his elbow troubles, he figures to add a few more homers to that total.
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