The Angels this week decided to keep Shohei Ohtani past the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline and build around him for the final two months of the season. They made a trade with the White Sox late Wednesday night to bolster the roster. Then, Ohtani showed on Thursday why the Angels preferred to keep their phenom.
He put together one of the best single days of his MLB career, a historic display of pitching and hitting across LA's doubleheader sweep of the Tigers. It started with the first complete game of his career on the mound and ended with his fourth multi-home run game of the season at the plate.
The Angels star is in the midst of the best season of his career. He leads the majors in OPS (1.070), home runs (38) and opponents' batting average (.185). He has already hit the second-most home runs of his career and has struck out 148 batters in 111 2/3 innings of work.
Somehow, his performance Thursday might have been the most impressive feat yet in this historic campaign.
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Here's a chronological look at how Ohtani's day unfolded.
Shohei Ohtani timeline vs. Tigers
(All times Eastern)
1:10 p.m.: Ohtani and the Angels begin the first of two games Thursday against the Tigers. All-Star Michael Lorenzen starts for host Detroit, and he catches Ohtani looking for the first out in the top of the first inning.
2:20 p.m.: Kerry Carpenter lines a base hit into center field in the bottom of the fifth inning. He's the first Tigers baserunner against Ohtani. At this point, the Angels are leading 3-0.
3:26 p.m.: And ode to the pitch clock, when a 6-0 game ends in 2:16. Of course, it also helps when one side doesn't have many baserunners, as was the case for the Tigers. Carpenter's hit was Detroit's the lone knock of the game. Spencer Torkelson, Matt Vierling and Zack Short each drew a walk against Ohtani for the other Tigers baserunners.
4:11 p.m.: This time, it's Matt Manning's turn to take the mound against the Angels. Lorenzen allowed only three runs, but the offense mustered nothing. Manning begins the game by striking out Zach Neto and Ohtani.
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4:45 p.m.: It took just an hour and 19 minutes from when Ohtani threw the final pitch of his shutout until he launched his 37th home run of the season. The ball came off the bat at 107.6 mph and traveled an estimated 383 feet. The drive would have left all but Camden Yards.
5:35 p.m.: Ohtani didn't need an hour between home runs. Just 50 minutes later, he blasts his second long ball of the game, this one leaving the bat at 116.9 mph and carrying 435 feet. It also appears he cramped up during the at-bat, and he wound up having to leave the game.
Shohei Ohtani's performance, by the numbers
Between the two games, Ohtani pitched a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and three walks and went 2 for 7 at the plate with two home runs. He also struck out three times.
It should come as no surprise that Ohtani made history Thursday. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to throw a complete game in the first game of a doubleheader and then hit a home run in the second.
But there's more. Ohtani became the first player since Sonny Siebert on Sept. 2, 1971, to throw a shutout and homer twice in the same day, per MLB's Sarah Langs. He's also the second player since at least 1900, according to Langs, to throw a complete game with one or no hits allowed and hit a pair of homers on the same day. The first was Rick Wise, who threw a no-hitter and went deep twice for the Phillies against the Reds on June 23, 1971.
And, according to the Elias Sports Bureau via Langs, Ohtani is also the first player in MLB history to hit a home run and throw a shutout in different games of a doubleheader.
