Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jose Suarez has been knocked around in his first four starts of the season, but Shohei Ohtani may have helped his teammate discover a major issue on Monday night.
Angels manager Phil Nevin told reporters on Tuesday that Suarez will still make his next scheduled start despite allowing a whopping 19 earned runs over his first four. One of the reasons Nevin is sticking with Suarez is that the Angels believe the left-hander has addressed an issue with tipping his pitches.
Phil Nevin says José Suarez is still scheduled to start on Sunday. He said Suarez is “start to start.” They feel like the pitch tipping issue they found last night will help him be better.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) April 25, 2023
Nevin said L.A.’s staff discovered the pitch tipping, but it would seem they got a huge assist from Ohtani. A lengthy video that was shared on YouTube by a Japanese fan appears to show Ohtani in the dugout on Monday explaining to his translator that Suarez was tipping pitches.
A Reddit user did a good job of breaking down the video, which was roughly 10 minutes long. At around the 2:16 mark, Ohtani is shown chatting with his translator and mimicking Suarez’s set position. Roughly 30 seconds later, Ohtani appears to impersonate Suarez’s leg position to Angels pitching coach Matt Wise. You can see the exchanges below:
Suarez gave up seven earned runs in the first three innings. Nevin spoke with him after the third inning, presumably to explain to him how he was tipping his pitches. Suarez then pitched two more innings and did not allow another hit. The position of his glove in the set position changed significantly after the third inning.
We have seen on many occasions how tipping pitches can have a massive impact on a pitcher’s performance. It is possible Suarez has been doing it all season, which is why he has gotten shelled.
