Ohtani Shohei (29, LA Angels) hit the ball over the fence with a swing of his whole body to the point that his helmet was peeled off. The multi-hit I recorded after a long time was a bonus.
Otani played as the team’s second designated hitter in the 2023 Major League Baseball away game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on the 17th (Korea Standard Time), recording three hits (one home run) and one RBI in four at-bats.
As a result, Otani recorded more than two hits in nine days since the game against San Francisco on the 8th (two hits in four at-bats). He also solidified his lead in the American League by hitting his 42nd home run of the season, while narrowing the gap with Matt Olson (Atlanta, 43 home runs), the overall No. 1 player in the Major League, to one.
Otani, who resumed cannon operations against Houston on the 14th, exploded a home run again in three days. Entering his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, he swung so strong that his helmet was peeled off from Texas starter John Gray’s second high fastball. The powerful ball stretched out and headed for the center fence. The center fielder chased the ball, but he couldn’t catch it, and it became a home run over the fence.
Otani’s home run was a large arch with a distance of 437 feet (133 meters) with a batting speed of 109.1 miles (about 175.6 kilometers) and a shooting angle of 32 degrees. Otani rushed to first base after hitting the ball as if he didn’t know it would be a home run, but the ball went over the fence.
Otani then showed off his fast feet and added a hit. He appeared as the leadoff hitter in the top of the third inning and threatened his opponent by making a sharp foul ball and hit a grounder to third base. He was caught by the Texas defense, which was shifting the left-handed batter’s defense, but while handling it somewhat leisurely, Otani stepped on the first base first and recorded an infield hit. However, even after making the chance, Ohtani’s chance to score disappeared in vain as the next batter Brandon Drury hit a double play.
Ohtani, who stepped down with a fly ball to left field in the fifth inning, added another hit in the second half of the game. Entering his fourth at-bat after one out in the top of the eighth inning, his bat was pushed back by Texas second pitcher Aroldis Chapman’s deep thinking fastball of 103.1 miles per hour. Shortstop Corey Seager quickly threw the ball to first base after catching the ball, but Otani’s foot won again this time and became an infield hit.
With this hit, Otani achieved a three-hit game for the first time in a long time. Otani recorded more than three hits in one game after a month since the game against the New York Yankees (three hits and one home run in four at-bats) on the 18th of last month. However, as Drury struck out again and Mike Mustakus grounded out to shortstop, Otani’s hit became a vain on-base hit.
Otani, who had a “crazy early summer” by hitting 15 home runs in June and 9 home runs in July, showed some signs of exhaustion in August. Before the game, he recorded only two home runs in August. Still, he remained silent for eight games after a home run against Seattle on the 4th. In the meantime, he also handed over the top spot in the big league home run to Olsen.
In the start against San Francisco on the 10th, he showed signs of difficulty, calling the catcher and manager to the mound from the first inning. Nevertheless, he pitched well with one run (zero earned runs) in six innings. Angels manager Phil Nevin said, “Ottani is tired right now. He even said, “I played 16 games without a break in 16 days.”
However, following the restart of the home run, Otani proved that he recovered his energy by swinging a hard hit on the day. Otani, who has a 55-home run pace this season, has only four left until his personal record of 46 home runs (46, 2021).
The Angels won 2-0 in the game. This helped the Angels escape their second straight loss. On this day, Angels starter Reed Detmers pitched well with one hit, four walks, five strikeouts and no runs in 7⅓ innings. Having been shaken by seven earned runs in all two previous games, he continued to pitch well until the seventh inning without a single hit. He, who had a no-hit, no-run record once last year, also took the mound in the eighth inning to challenge his record.
However, after catching the first out well, Marcus Simian hit a double in the middle of the left, ending Detmers’ no-hit march in 28 batters. The Angels, who replaced the pitcher with Reynaldo Lopez, conducted an intentional four-ball operation, and Lopez handled the following two batters with a strikeout and a fly ball to left field to prevent Detmers’ loss.안전놀이터
The Angels, who had been struggling to take the lead by one point, succeeded in running away one more point in the top of the ninth inning when catcher Matt Thais hit a solo shot over the right-center fence. Closer Carlos Esteves then defended the victory by blocking the crisis at first and second base with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
