Shohei Othani broke his own record set earlier this year by throwing the fastest pitch by a starting pitcher in 2018 - a 101.1 mph fastball against the Tigers on Wednesday.
Shohei Ohtani's last pitch of his outing clocked in at 101.1 MPH, the fastest pitch thrown by a starter this season pic.twitter.com/U1XykhHsYO
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 31, 2018
However, Ohtani’s five innings of three-hit, one-run ball was foiled by the the Angels’ bullpen, two rain delays and one … wait for it … Rally Goose.
After the game’s second rain delay, Ohtani was pulled from the mound with the Angels and Tigers tied, 1-1. Reliever Cam Bedrosian then imploded as he allowed four earned runs and recorded only one out.
“I just had a rough time getting a grip on the ball,” Bedrosian said (via The Orange County Register). “I couldn’t locate my pitches. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to get a grip on the breaking balls.”
Jim Johnson then allowed another run as the Angels lost 6-1.
Though Bedrosian attributed his struggles to humidity at Comerica Park following the rainfall, some believe a goose that hung out in right field during the second rain delay before flying headlong into a scoreboard injected life in the Tigers. Hence the legend of the “Rally Goose” was born.
The goose is loose!
— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 31, 2018
(Don't worry, the goose is fine) pic.twitter.com/bkRfUm4lou
The @tigers announce to crowd that the Goose is healthy and has been released pic.twitter.com/17BZI8PEHL
— George Sipple (@GeorgeSipple) May 31, 2018
“We need to get ourselves a little decoy,” catcher James McCann said (via The Detroit News). “We need to get a little Canadian goose decoy and put it in our dugout.”