Shohei Ohtani of Los Angeles Angels brilliantly beat 9 people, lost to Astros

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Second yard Shohei Ohtani thrown on Opening Day was a fast 98 mph ball discovered at the edge of the inner corner to Jose Altuve. At the end of the first inning of Thursday night, Angel of Los Angeles‘two-way feeling throws seven throws at a higher velocity. Normally in 2021, while feeling in command after half a decade of no consistent throw, Ohtani has pared down that higher velocities, saving larger numbers for tighter situations later in the day. end game.

The early trust shows how much he has changed on the mound in a year.

“He’s gradually gotten better at his quick ball command – that’s what I think the biggest difference is,” said Angels coach Joe Maddon after the opening 3-1 loss of the season. of the previous team Houston Astros. “And you saw it again tonight – lots of numbers 97 and 99. Before, the early part of the game would have been lower numbers until he needed to. Now, even without needing. necessary, he still does those things.”

Ohtani – limited, like all Angel beginners, to 80 yards because of short spring training – allows a run of four shots in 4⅔ innings against one of the teams Most dangerous formation in the league, with one walk and nine hits. Three of those goals went to Altuve, who hit three times in a game just three times in the previous 11 major seasons.

Though the total throws were abbreviated, Ohtani hit seven 99 mph throws, the third most of his career. His average speed on his four-seam fastball, which seems to show slightly more cutting action, is 97.8 mph, two products above last year’s average. The effect of that throw had a significant impact on his slider, producing seven hits out of nine turns.

Ohtani, after being unanimously selected as the American Football League’s Most Valuable Player, began spring training to talk about how he feels stronger.

Maybe it shows up in a fast ball that can continuously reach three digits.

“That’s what I hope,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “It’s going to be a long season, so I don’t know how the fatigue will play out, but I’ll try to pick my position and throw hard.”

A sold-out crowd of 44,723 crammed into Angel Stadium to watch Ohtani begin to watch what is arguably the most impressive season in baseball history, as he combined a ,965 OPS with 46 runs home and 26 bases stolen as a beater with a 3.18 ERA and 156 shots in 130⅓ innings as a pitcher. By holding the ball early in the first half and taking the lead in the second half, Ohtani became the first player in history to both throw and face his team’s first pitch of the season.

Attack of the Fighting Angels Against Leftist Astros Frame Valdez, who went 6⅔ innings without scoring and at one point recovering 15 consecutive shots. But they eventually made it through with two appearances in season eight, when David Fletchersink drive of the line running through a dive Yordan Alvarez in the left court, score Brandon Marsh and put the lanyard running into the plate. Next was Ohtani, who launched a balloon at 98 mph that initially stirred the audience but was eventually caught on the edge of the grass off the field.

“I think it might have a chance to go,” Ohtani said after a night of 0 out of 4 insults. “I’m just a little below it.”

Ohtani was dropped as pitcher for one of the first two innings in season five in part because Maddon wanted a cholera medication Aaron Loup attack left hit Michael Brantley. When he returned to the mines, Maddon approached Ohtani to ask if he wanted to continue playing and took advantage of a new rule that allowed him to continue hitting even after he had finished throwing the ball.

Ohtani’s response: “Of course.”

By the end of the night, Ohtani said, he had almost forgotten he had thrown the ball. He treated the final third of the game as if he were the designated attacker – and he nearly sealed the score in doing so.

“Nothing is too fast for him,” Maddon said. “Nothing is too big for him.”