OAKLAND — Media swarmed the dugouts at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday ahead of Shintaro Fujinami making his highly anticipated major league debut.
He would face his former high school rival on the opposing Los Angeles Angels. Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.
Things started out swimmingly for Fujinami who showed off his nasty splitter. The first two innings of the eventual 13-1 loss had him retiring six straight batters.
Shintaro Fujinami, Filthy 92mph Splitter. 😷 pic.twitter.com/4fe2fd5ZuQ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 1, 2023
… but it didn’t last long.
In 2 1/3 innings, Fujinami gave up eight runs, walking three and striking out four.
“The first two innings, the fastball was working very well, and I thought too much that — you know, the third inning, I threw too much off speed,” Fujinami said after the game, via his interpreter, Issei Yamada.
Facing his former rival Ohtani, wasn’t at the forefront of his mind, however.
“Obviously, he’s a good player, but you know, there’s other guys on the lineup, and they’re great players, they’re one of the best hitters in the world, so I’m just glad I got to face against those guys,” he said.
Ohtani went 2-for-5 on Saturday while the Angels piled on 11 hits against the A’s.
Fujinami said he needs to improve on the pitching sequences for the next time, but his mom was in attendance and was very happy to see her son strike out Mike Trout.
Shintaro Fujinami's mom approves of the Mike Trout strikeout pic.twitter.com/W1NfgGTTup
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 1, 2023
Catcher Shea Langeliers was behind the plate, catching Fuji’s first MLB outing, and said the first two innings were more indicative of the player he is.
“Everybody knows he’s got electric stuff, and he’s a really good pitcher. Sometimes baseball just gets the best of you,” Langeliers said.
Fujinami was signed as a free agent by the A’s on a one-year contract in January. After spending 10 years with the Hanshin Tigers in Nippon Professional Baseball.
When asked how he plans to spend the rest of his day after a tough outing, Fuji said he typically does his warmups and it’ll still be on his mind later.
“But you know, today’s today and tomorrow’s a brand new day,” Fujinami said.
