Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Shohei Ohtani’s pitching efforts are being limited by an injury.
Ohtani has looked spectacular for the Los Angeles Angels this spring, especially at the plate. The 26-year-old has batted .552 with five home runs and has an incredible 1.645 OPS. His performance on the mound has been a different story.
Though Ohtani was sharp against the Padres two outings ago, he was smacked around by the Dodgers on Monday night. Ohtani gave up three home runs and walked five over just 2.1 innings. He was charged with seven earned runs.
So what was going on? Ohtani is dealing with a blister.
Shohei Ohtani has given up his third home run of the night, this time a three-run shot by Will Smith.
Now, a trainer is out on the mound checking on the fingers on his throwing hand. You can see him looking at his fingers at the end of this clip: pic.twitter.com/zpRaMgxIgs
— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) March 30, 2021
New Angels GM Perry Minasian believes they caught the blister early.
Shohei Ohtani said the blister popped up in his last outing and that he was relieved that it peeled off during this start. Didn’t sound like he thinks it’ll be an issue in his pitching debut on Sunday but blamed it for his lack of command, saying he was trying to throw around it.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 30, 2021
Ohtani is set to make his first pitching start of the season on Sunday Night Baseball against the White Sox. He and the Angels are hoping the blister won’t hinder him for that start. At the least, Ohtani seems to be fine at the plate.
