[ad_1]
ANAHEIM – Two-way star Shohei Ohtani isn’t quite done pitching this season, as he is set to start against the As on Sunday at Angel Stadium.
Angels manager Joe Maddon indicated Thursday that Ohtani could be shut down for the season with pitcher’s arm pain, but Ohtani started a 32-length bullpen session without any problems on Friday. Ohtani was originally scheduled to start the series opener on Friday against Oakland, but will now take the hill in Sunday’s final. Right-hander Jaime Barría is expected to be pushed back to start against the Astros on Monday.
Pitching coach Matt Wise watched the Ohtani reliever box session and walked away in awe of what he saw. Ohtani also informed the coaching staff that he was feeling good and wanted to pitch on Sunday.
“It was awesome,” Maddon said. “Wise came in right after and said it was like a ‘gorilla-full’ lift pen and chased after him. Matt liked it and Shohei was all about to throw on Sunday so we got together. adjusted. We are just listening to him and he was adamant. “
This will be the 22nd start of the year for Ohtani, who is 9-2 with a 3.36 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 115 1/3 innings. The phenomenon struggled during its last outing against the Astros on September 10, allowing six runs in 3 1/3 innings. His speed was a little slower than usual, Ohtani later said he was suffering from pain in his arm. It was a cause for concern for the Angels, but Ohtani showed he was in good health with his bullpen session on Friday.
He has always been able to strike with the injury and was the club’s third forward against Oakland on Friday. He has 44 homers this year, which ranks him third on the Majors behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (46) of Toronto and Salvador Perez (45) of Kansas City.
[ad_2]
Source link