Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way star Shohei Ohtani had to miss one game due to a groin injury on Monday.
However, the injury report on him is much more promising for Tuesday.
In fact, let’s get it out of the way and say it: he’s back.
The talented slugger/pitcher is in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
He’s back. pic.twitter.com/ZMFJaNmCPH
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) May 3, 2022
He is hitting third, behind Taylor Ward and Mike Trout, in a much-improved Angels lineup.
The groin injury wasn’t supposed to take him out of the lineup for too much time, and thankfully, that was confirmed in the last few hours.
He will have to be careful for a game or two, however, as those injuries could be tricky.
He Could Return To The Mound Within The Next Couple Of Days
He has been medically cleared to return, and will do so tonight against the Sox.
While Ohtani has been confirmed as the designated hitter tonight, there is still no certainty as to whether he will pitch in the next couple of days or not.
He could start on Wednesday or Thursday against the Sox if there are no setbacks with his groin.
That, however, isn’t yet official.
Ohtani is off to a good start on the mound, with a solid 4.19 ERA and a much better 2.10 Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP.
He has struck out 30 hitters in just 19.1 innings, good for 13.97 strikeouts per nine frames.
At the plate, however, he is yet to hit his stride.
He is slashing .226/.280/.398 with four homers and a .678 OPS, a year after putting a .965 OPS.
Of course, it’s still early and he is too talented to keep struggling at the plate.
Once he is 100 percent healthy, he will likely get into a rhythm and get back to being the slugger we all know.
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