The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current, August 07, 2023, Page 11, Image 11

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    SPORTS
August 7, 2023
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 11
Angels say they won’t trade Shohei Ohtani.
He celebrates with a 1-hitter, 2 homers.
By Larry Lage
The Associated Press
D
ETROIT — Shohei Ohtani looked
his manager in the eye and in just
a few words, left no doubt of his
intentions.
“I’ll finish it,” Los Angeles Angels
manager Phil Nevin recalled Ohtani
telling him after the eighth inning of what
became his first complete game last month
in Major League Baseball (MLB). “He
wanted it. I could see it, too.”
Ohtani polished off his one-hit shutout
of the Detroit Tigers, then continued his
extraordinary day in the second game of
the doubleheader, hitting two homers to
increase his major league-leading total to
38 before leaving the game with cramps.
The two-way superstar became the first
player to throw a shutout in one game of a
doubleheader and hit one homer — much
less two — in the other.
“It’s certainly something I’ve never seen
— I’m not sure at any level,” Nevin said.
Hours before Ohtani delivered the
message to his manager, the Angels
delivered one of their own.
The franchise, desperate to make the
playoffs for the first time since 2014, made
a win-now trade to bolster its pitching staff
and confirmed that Ohtani will stay for the
rest of the season before he becomes a free
agent.
“We’re going to roll the dice and see what
happens,”
general
manager
Perry
Minasian said before Ohtani led Los
Angeles to a 6-0 win over the Tigers in
Game 1 of the doubleheader, just days
before MLB’s trade deadline.
Ohtani’s start was his best in the majors.
He gave up one hit, walked three, and
struck out eight on 111 pitches, including
fastballs nearing 100 mph and sliders and
splitters that left the Tigers flailing.
Ohtani improved to 9-5 with a 3.43 Earned
Run Average (ERA) on the mound.
In Game 2, Ohtani returned to the
TWO-WAY TRIUMPH. Pitcher Shohei Ohtani
(top photo) of the Los Angeles Angels throws against
the Detroit Tigers in Detroit during the first baseball
game of a doubleheader on July 27, 2023. In the bot-
tom photo, Ohtani is seen hitting a two-run home run
against the Tigers during the second game of the July
27 doubleheader. The two-way Ohtani became the
first player to throw a shutout in one game of a dou-
bleheader and hit one homer — much less two —
in the other. (AP Photos/Paul Sancya)
designated hitter role. The left-handed
hitter hit a two-run homer to left in the
second inning and a line drive to
right-center in the fourth before Nevin
pulled him out of the game after he was
grimacing in pain.
“He’ll get some fluids in him and he’ll be
fine,” Nevin said after the Angels’ 11-4
victory, which gave them a three-game
sweep at Detroit and nine wins in 11
games overall.
Ohtani became the second player since
at least 1900 to throw a one-hit shutout or
better and hit a home run on the same day,
joining Philadelphia’s Rick Wise, who hit a
two-run homer during his no-hitter
against Cincinnati on June 23, 1971.
“We try not to take for granted what we
have in him,” Nevin said. “Hate to say that
you expect greatness every day, but it’s
what we get. It’s awesome to watch. Him
performing at this level, when there is so
much focus on one person, only the
mentally strong are able to do that and
that’s what impresses me most about him.”
It was just the latest display of why
Ohtani could have landed a huge prospect
haul in a trade, and why he’s expected to
cash in on perhaps the world’s most lucra-
tive contract in any sport this offseason.
Some speculate the 29-year-old might
Continued on page 15
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