Comment Shohei Ohtani’s dominance has become almost normal, yet he often finds a new way to make history. Wednesday was another one of those nights as Ohtani once again put himself in a class of his own. The Los Angeles Angels two-way star pitched seven innings in a 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins, allowing two hits without surrendering an earned run. At the plate, he delivered a two-run single in the fifth to give the Angels the lead for good. And on the base paths, he recorded his 10th stolen base. Since RBI became an official statistic in 1920, Ohtani is the first player to hit 10 batters, drive in two runs and steal a base in the same game, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Shohei Ohtani is the first player since RBI became official in 1920 to do all of the following in a single game: – 10 hits as a pitcher – 2 RBIs as a batter – one stolen base pic.twitter.com/GXmuoaGptt — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 7, 2022 Ohtani is in the midst of a brilliant run, even by his own standards. He has thrown 28⅔ consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, dating back to the fifth inning of a June 9 start against Boston, and has won five straight starts. He is also one of six pitchers since 1913 (including Clayton Kershaw twice) to go four starts with no earned runs and 40 strikeouts. Of course, none of those pitchers hit like Ohtani. Since that June 9 start against the Red Sox, he’s hitting .305 with a .398 on-base percentage and .634 slugging percentage — his 1.032 on-base plus slugging nearly tripled the miserable .364 that opponents hit against him. . From the archives: Shohei Ohtani is the star baseball never knew it needed On the mound, Ohtani continued his flawless record despite a slow start on Wednesday. The Marlins tacked on a first-inning run on a throwing error, a double and a sacrifice fly. They added a walk and a single in the second. But Ohtani then retired the next 13 batters, striking out eight of them, as the Angels built a 5-1 lead. Over the past four weeks, Ohtani has raised his OPS from .765 to .839 and lowered his ERA from 3.99 to 2.44. While Ohtani’s night was historic, he has recorded other similar performances this year in an encore for his American League MVP season. Last month, he pitched eight scoreless innings a day after clubbing two three-run homers. And on May 5 at Fenway Park, Ohtani pitched seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and also hit a 109 mph line drive off the Green Monster.
