The Los Angeles Angels had a little bit of an injury scare on Sunday afternoon when two-way star Shohei Ohtani was pulled from the game early with an apparent groin injury.
Ohtani looked to be in pain running to first base when he grounded into a double play in the top of the seventh inning.
The Angels won the game by a final score of 6-5 over the Chicago White Sox, but for the series finale on Monday afternoon, Ohtani is out of the lineup.
However, Angels’ analyst Jeff Fletcher tweeted that Ohtani is only getting Monday’s game off as a precaution and that he will in fact be available to pinch hit if he is needed.
The Angels aren’t sure yet when he will pitch again.
Angels head athletic trainer Mike Frostad said Shohei Ohtani (groin) is getting today off as a precaution. He is available to pinch hit. They didn’t feel an MRI was necessary. They haven’t settled on the day he’ll pitch next.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) May 2, 2022
Angels, Ohtani Catch A Break
The good news is that Ohtani is only getting a day off as a precaution and is still available to pinch hit if needed.
The Angels are going to need Ohtani healthy if they plan on staying at the top of the American League West division.
They currently are 15-8 and have the second-best record in the AL.
They lead the AL West division by 2.5 games over the second-place Seattle Mariners.
But if the Angels felt an MRI was not necessary for Ohtani, then that means that they have a positive outlook on his groin issue.
Ohtani is hitting .228 with four homers and 12 RBIs to start the 2022 season.
On the pitching side of things, he is 2-2 with a 4.19 ERA in his first four starts of the regular season.
We’ll see if Ohtani ends up getting in the game at any point today against the White Sox.
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