ANAHEIM -- Shohei Ohtani wasted no time making a big first impression in his first two-way start on the mound and at DH in the two-hole, slugging a first-inning home run on the first pitch he saw Sunday night from Dylan Cease at Angel Stadium.
And he didn’t disappoint early on the mound against the White Sox with a scoreless first inning and his fastball touching 100 mph three times, including topping out at 101 mph before finishing off Adam Eaton with a 92 mph splitter for his first strikeout of the season.
He followed that up with his homer in the bottom of the inning, smacking it a projected 451 feet to right field. It left the bat at 115.2 mph, which was the hardest-hit homer by an Angels player since Statcast was introduced in 2015, topping Mike Trout's 115 mph blast on June 11, 2018. He now holds the hardest pitch thrown this season by any player at 100.6 mph and the hardest-hit homer by any player at 115.2 mph.
Ohtani became the first Angels pitcher to get a hit in an American League game since Clyde Wright on Sept. 8, 1972, and the first Angels pitcher to get a hit in an AL game since Nolan Ryan on Sept. 30, 1972. The designated hitter rule was implemented in 1973 and the Angels never had a pitcher hit for themselves with the DH available until Ohtani on Sunday. Ohtani also became the first pitcher to homer in a game between AL teams since the Red Sox's Marty Pattin on Sept. 26, 1972.
Ohtani had previously been held out of the lineup on the day before, the day of and the day after his starts, but this year the club is being more aggressive with him, and he communicates with the coaching staff about when he wants to be in the lineup. The club experimented with him pitching and hitting in the same game twice in Spring Training, and Ohtani also did it during his time in Japan with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
But it’s a rare feat in the Majors. He’s the first pitcher to bat second since Jack Dunleavy did so for the Cardinals on Sept. 7, 1903. And only two pitchers have hit for themselves with the designated hitter available since Ken Brett did it twice in 1976. Andy Sonnanstine hit for himself in 2009 because of a mistake on the lineup card, while Madison Bumgarner batted for himself in an Interleague start against the A’s in 2016.
"Don't you love it?" Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "This is all him. This was him deciding that he could do this. I think it's a positive component that he can do both and just go pitch, go hit, go pitch and just play baseball. When he came over, this is what he wanted to do. This is why he signed up. Everybody clamored for him because of this particular reason. So I think it's important to give him this opportunity."
The danger is if Ohtani has a short start, the club would lose him as the DH for the rest of the game. But it’s a risk the Angels are willing to take, given Ohtani’s offensive prowess.
"One of the reasons why [I like it] is because if I can help my own cause and score some runs for myself, it's going to lead to confidence," Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara on Saturday. "I'll be able to attack the hitters more and be less passive."
Ohtani is also the first player to make starts as a pitcher and a non-pitcher in three seasons since Bobby Reis did it for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1935 and with the Boston Bees in 1936 and '38. Ohtani previously did both when he won Rookie of the Year in 2018 and again last season, when he made two starts before being shut down from pitching with a right elbow/forearm strain.
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Ohtani CRUSHES HR in first two-way start - MLB.com
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