We’re running out of superlatives to describe Shohei Ohtani. The Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way superstar continues to take things to new levels.
On Thursday night in a 7-1 win over the Houston Astros, Ohtani was the starting pitcher and leadoff hitter.
As the pitcher, Ohtani went six innings, allowing four hits and one earned run, with two walks and 12 strikeouts. Do the quick math, and that comes out to two strikeouts per inning (and he struck out three batters in his final inning of work). He touched 101 mph on the radar gun.
Sho No 5 101MPH🔥✅
Shohei Ohtani hits 101mph to register strikeout number 5 against the Astros in Anaheim😎
Credit: Ballys#大谷翔平 #Ohtani #Angels #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/dGNlouk6Gf— Anaheim Sports (@AnaheimSports1) July 14, 2022
What an inning‼ Shohei Ohtani strikes out the side@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/Pvyh2KCFoY
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) July 14, 2022
At the plate, Ohtani went 2-for-4, walked, and drove in two runs with a triple to give the Angels a 3-0 lead in the second inning.
Ohtani is pitching tonight …
And he just hit a 2-run triple! pic.twitter.com/vERU8h8i6a
— MLB (@MLB) July 14, 2022
What Ohtani is doing over the last five weeks is absolutely ridiculous. He has a 0.45 ERA and 58 strikeouts over his last six starts.
Shohei Ohtani over these last 34 days …
Pitching: 0.45 ERA, 58 SO, 11 BB, 39 2/3 IP
Hitting: .287/.393/.604, 8 HR, 29 GSix innings of one-run ball, with 12 strikeouts, against the Astros tonight. And a huge two-out, two-run triple.
It is continually unreal.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 14, 2022
He becomes the sixth pitcher in MLB history to strike out 45 batters and allow no more than one earned run over a four-game span.
Shohei Ohtani is the 6th player to have at least 45 strikeouts and 1 or fewer ER over a 4-game span since earned runs became official in 1913. He joins:
– Jacob deGrom
– Randy Johnson
– Clayton Kershaw (twice)
– Pedro Martinez
– Chris Sale pic.twitter.com/FItZTIU30A— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 14, 2022
He joins Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers in Angels history to have at least 10 strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
Shohei Ohtani is the second pitcher in #Angels history to record 10+ strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
He joins Nolan Ryan, who had six different streaks of at least four straight games with 10+ strikeouts, including a franchise record seven straight games.
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) July 14, 2022
And on Wednesday night, he did all of this against an Astros team that’s tied for the best record in MLB at 57-30.
It’s absolutely incredible, and Ohtani’s chances to repeat as AL MVP are looking pretty strong (though he will have tough competition from the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge).
