Shohei Ohtani Joins An Elite Group With A Twist

Shohei Ohtani has been one of the few saving graces for the Los Angeles Angels amidst their horrible and disappointing season.

After signing Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen, the Halos looked like a team that was ready to make some noise in the American League West.

However, things have changed, and the Halos find themselves well out of contention.

But that doesn’t mean that there can’t still be some good moments.

Ohtani had yet another start in which he did not allow an earned run last night against the Miami Marlins, while also striking out 10 batters.

He joins John Lackey, Jacob deGrom, and Clayton Kershaw as the fourth starter over the last 50 years to have three straight starts of no earned runs and 10 strikeouts, but he did so with a little bit of a twist, as seen in the tweet below.

Over the last 50 years, only 4 pitchers have had 3 straight starts with 0 ER and 10-plus SO:

Jacob deGrom
Clayton Kershaw
John Lackey
Shohei Ohtani

10 SO, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 unearned run in 7 innings vs. the Marlins tonight. Also a stolen base and the key two-out, two-run single.

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 7, 2022

A Two-Way Treat

Ohtani is already pitching great, but the twist from last night’s game is that he picked up the game-winning hit, driving in two runs in the top of the fifth to put Los Angeles up 3-1.

They would hold on and win the game by a final of 5-2.

He also stole a base in last night’s win in Miami.

Of course, this was possible because Ohtani is a two-way phenom, meaning he can both hit and pitch.

He can dominate on the mound like an ace and hit tape measure shots like Bryce Harper.

He’s a uniquely talented ballplayer, the likes of which we have not seen since Babe Ruth way back when.

But this is a guy who can do it all on the baseball field.

And he joined some elite company last night with his dominant start.