ANAHEIM, Calif. — While the Angels have a lot of work to do in order to overcome their seven-game losing streak that put them eight games out of a playoff spot, their last two games have been a good start. After defeating the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night to snap their losing streak, the Angels gave the ball to Shohei Ohtani for the series finale, and he did what he does.
Going six strong innings, Ohtani allowed just three hits and one unearned run, making it 19-straight innings since he last allowed an earned run. When Ohtani walked off the mound after completing the 6th inning, the Angels still trailed 1-0. A leadoff double from Luis Rengifo to start the bottom of the 6th was followed by an Ohtani intentional walk, a Brandon Drury RBI single, and a Mike Moustakas three-run blast. This put the Angels up 4-1, and they never looked back. While the Giants loaded the bases with two outs in the 7th, they did not score, preserving the Angels’ lead and Ohtani’s chance at his 10th win.
After becoming the first player in MLB history last season to record at least 10 wins on the mound and 30 home runs at the plate, Ohtani has now broken his own record, becoming the first player in MLB history to record at least 10 wins on the mound and 40 home runs at the plate in one season. It’s truly been an indescribable year for Ohtani, who continues to reach heights that nobody in this sport has ever reached, and likely never will.
When asked after the game about this new record, Ohtani gave credit to his teammates, saying, “Obviously we need to score runs to get the win, I’m in the batters box too, but I need run support from my teammates, and it just shows that we’re playing well and scoring runs.”
Ohtani added that he was “frustrated” with his performance on the mound in this win, despite yielding just three hits and one unearned run. Holding himself to incredibly high standards, Ohtani is his own biggest critic, which contributes to his greatness. Amidst a historic individual season, it is team wins that Ohtani cares about the most, and the Angels got another one on Wednesday night.
