Angels' Shohei Ohtani removed from game against Red Sox with blister after two innings
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Well, Babe Ruth had a few clunkers, too, back a century ago.
Shohei Ohtani, making his third start of his Major League Baseball career, lasted just two innings against the powerful Boston Red Sox.
He developed a blister problem in the second inning, the Angels announced, ending his night after just 66 pitches.
After the game, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said that Ohtani will DH on Thursday and is expected to make his next start.
It was an ugly night at the outset for Ohtani when was greeted rudely when Mookie Betts led off the game with a homer to left-center, his first of two homers of the night, and Ohtani never seemed to quite recover.
He looked uncomfortable the entire night, routinely blowing on his hand in the 67-degree temperature at game time, trying to get the feel of the ball. He threw just 34 strikes, relying almost solely on his fastball. He simply couldn’t throw his devastating split-fingered fastball and slider for strikes.
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The Red Sox, taking advantage of his control problems, laid off his pitches and teed off on his fastball.
Ohtani, who had generated a major-league leading 35.2% of swings and misses in his first two starts, only generated three swings and misses in his entire outing, and none in his 38-pitch second inning.
Although Ohtani was able to wiggle out of a huge jam in this second inning when Hanley Ramirez grounded out with runners on first and second with the count full, the Angels felt he had enough, and brought in reliever Luke Bard, much to the crowd’s disappointment.
Why, although this was the Angels’ first sellout crowd on a Tuesday night at Angel Stadium since Mike Trout’s bobblehead night four years ago, there still were several thousand fans who hadn’t even reached their seats while Ohtani still was in the game.
The Red Sox who teed off Bard and were leading 8-1 after three innings, at least delayed Ohtani’s bid to become the first player in history to hit three homers and win three games by the end of April. He’s scheduled to pitch again in a week against the Houston Astros in Houston.