OAKLAND, California – Another home run, another pitching win, another place in the history books. Just one more night for Shohei Ohtani.
The two-way sensation from Japan withstood another injury scare and pitched six scoreless innings to go on with his team-leading 25th home run and achieved another monumental milestone as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Tuesday .
Ohtani joined Babe Ruth (1918) as the only player in major league history to have at least 10 home runs and 10 wins in the same season. According to the Angels, two players from the Negro Leagues also did: Bullet Rogan of the 1922 Kansas City Monarchs and Ed Rile of the 1927 Detroit Stars.
“I feel like every time we’re out there he does something special,” said Phil Nevin, the Angels interim manager. These things are not easy for us.”
Ohtani singled and scored on Taylor Ward’s triple homer in the fifth heat, then connected to a massive drive from Sam Selman that led off the seventh as a crowd of Red Clan fans seated behind the Angels’ dugout roared.
In doing so, Ohtani overtook Ichiro Suzuki for the second-most home runs (118) by a Japanese-born player. Hideki Matsui had 175.
| season | player | Ks |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Shhei Ohtani | 157 |
| 2021 | Shhei Ohtani | 156 |
| 1919 | Babe Ruth | 30 |
| 1930 | Babe Ruth | 3 |
| 1921 | Babe Ruth | 3 |
| — ESPN stats and information | ||
“Obviously we’re very different types of goons, but when I get past Ichiro, I feel really honored,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
On the mound, Ohtani (10-7) was mostly crisp. He had five strikeouts, allowed four hits and retired seven of his last eight batters. He has now hit 25 home runs and 100 pitching strikeouts for the second year in a row — a feat unmatched by any other player in a season in MLB history.
“After that home run today, I turned to the umpire and the third base coach and I just said, ‘I don’t know how he does that,'” said A third baseman Vimael Machin. “I’m just an elite player overall who can throw at wicked speeds over 100mph and hit the ball the way it hits it. I can’t even describe it. I wish I could too. It’s amazing what he does. ”
The reigning AL MVP almost didn’t make it past third place.
Two days after getting a spike on his left foot after colliding with Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzales near the circle on the deck, Ohtani was hit by an 87-mile drive from Ramon Laureano near the same area.
After making the game for the finals from the inning, Ohtani flexed his hip in apparent discomfort and then slowly hobbled off the field. He returned to the field moments later to test his leg and stayed in the game.
“It hit my foot pretty directly, so initially I thought there was a good chance it could be tonight,” Ohtani said. “I came back in and it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought.”
Nevin said Ohtani’s foot kept getting sore as the game progressed. X-rays taken afterwards were negative.
“He’s good. Looks like he’ll play tomorrow,” said Nevin. “It hit him right in the instep. Those things, when you sit for a while, a little chilly night, it kind of tightened him up.”
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.