Shohei Ohtani’s (29, Los Angeles Angels) screams startled everyone in the stadium, and while there was some concern about his injury after the dune bomb, Ohtani’s determination to play through it put those worries to rest.
Ohtani started at third base against the Chicago White Sox in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) game at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on Tuesday (July 30) and went 0-for-4 with a walk, two strikeouts, and one run scored. His season batting average dropped to .263 from .269, but he was happy to get out of the game injury-free. The Angels won 6-4 to snap a three-game losing streak.
Ohtani led off the first inning with a walk and scored on a passed ball. He tried to avoid a 94.6-mile-per-hour fastball from White Sox starter Michael Kopeck and was hit near his right calf. The pain was so intense that Ohtani screamed, “Ow!” as soon as he was hit.
The stadium fell silent after Ohtani’s scream. “Every Angels fan is holding their breath,” the local American commentator said. Contrary to fears, the injury was not serious. After a quick check of his leg, Ohtani walked out to first base, bringing the frozen stadium back to life.
The two-hit star is one of the biggest names in the upcoming free agency market. His contract is expected to be the largest in the history of American professional sports free agency, let alone Major League Baseball. The total is expected to exceed $500 million (65.97 billion won), with recent reports suggesting that it will exceed $600 million (79.16 billion won). The fact that he almost got hurt in the process was enough to make everyone in the stadium hold their breath.
Ohtani later scored on Brandon Drury’s three-run homer to left field with runners on second and third, giving the Angels a 3-0 lead. Matt Tice followed with a back-to-back homer to make it 4-0.
The Angels were quiet after the four-run first inning, and Ohtani’s bat never really caught fire. In the top of the second, Ohtani fouled off the third 안전놀이터 baseman with runners on second and third, and in the top of the fourth, he struck out swinging with runners on second and third. In the top of the seventh, he struck out swinging in his fourth at-bat. Meanwhile, the White Sox scored three runs to cut the deficit to one.
The Angels added an insurance run in the top of the eighth off Liam Hendricks. Hendricks was making his big league debut after being recently diagnosed with cancer (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) and was immediately activated to the 26-man roster. With runners on first and third, Zack Neto hit a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 5-3, and Mickey Moniak followed with a double to put runners on second and third. Mike Trout added another run when he hit an infield single off the shortstop’s glove to make it 6-3.
Ohtani then faced Hendricks with runners on second and third, but could only manage a grounder to shortstop.
The Angels gave up a run-scoring single to Eloy Jimenez in the bottom of the ninth to cut the deficit to 6-4, but did not allow any more runs.