Los Angeles Angels do-it-all superstar Shohei Ohtani hadn’t pitched for the team in two weeks after the team skipped his last start citing arm fatigue. He returned to the mound for Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, but unfortunately for the superstar, it wasn’t long before he was removed from the game.
At the top of just the second inning of Wednesday’s matchup with the Reds, Shohei Ohtani was pulled from the game with an apparent injury after facing just five batters.
“Shohei Ohtani just left the game with some kind of health issue in the 2nd inning. There wasn’t much discussion on the mound,” Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher said on Twitter.
Before the game I asked Phil Nevin about pitching for this weekend and he said it was undetermined, and Tyler Anderson came in from the bullpen after Ohtani went out.
All of that suggests the Angels knew before the game there might be something going on with Ohtani.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 23, 2023
“Before the game I asked Phil Nevin about pitching for this weekend and he said it was undetermined, and Tyler Anderson came in from the bullpen after Ohtani went out. All of that suggests the Angels knew before the game there might be something going on with Ohtani,” Fletcher said in a follow-up tweet.
The Angels announced that the official reason Ohtani was pulled from the game was “arm fatigue.:
Ohtani threw just 26 pitches in the game, marking the shortest outing of his career.
It’s pretty brutal news for Ohtani and the Angels, and the MLB world had plenty to say about it on social media.
Angels 5-14 since the Trade Deadline
Unloaded the farm. Rushed Trout back despite still having wrist soreness. Ohtani just left the game with an injury
Literally not one thing has gone right for them since deciding to be buyers. They are going to be a disaster for years
— Josh Gross (@josh3302) August 23, 2023
Ohtani is a player easy to root for and super fun to watch. Hate to see him going thru an apparent injury.
— Andrew Russell (@Andrew_Russell7) August 23, 2023
Imagine taking a day off work, sitting out in the sun & heat, watching a terrible baseball team, just because you wanna see Ohtani pitch
…and then he exits with an injury in the 2nd inning.
That's bad luck right there
— 𝕏 legend VinRBI (@VinRBI) August 23, 2023
Oh no. Ohtani just left the game with some sort of injury. https://t.co/nOIph4HQGk
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) August 23, 2023
Please don't let this guy be hurt. Injuries are bad for baseball. https://t.co/ZJ1BYRBeUK
— DoctorBobble (@DoctorBobble) August 23, 2023
he’s been trying to gut it out on the mound but his body keeps failing him. they’ve gotta shut him down https://t.co/AUbflyQlI3
— 🤙🏻 (@RunThaBaII) August 23, 2023
Not good at all https://t.co/BPuWDs7sOw
— In The Alley Baseball Podcast (@ITABaseballPod) August 23, 2023
It’s certainly a tough break for Ohtani and the Angels.
