Shohei Ohtani continues to do the unthinkable. The Los Angeles Angels phenom dominated the Oakland Athletics by carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning and recording two hits and one RBI to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.
Ohtani allowed just two hits and a walk while recording 10 strikeouts in eight full innings of work. It was just another performance that proved he is a true baseball unicorn. Even though he was unstoppable and matched Nolan Ryan in the Angels' history books, he admitted that he was surprised he was able to pull it off. According to ESPN, Shohei Ohtani said that he wasn't feeling his fastball, as it was below his expected velocity.
“To be honest, the velocity on my fastball wasn't as fast as normal,” Shohei Ohtani said. “But my slider was doing its thing and was working. I'm kind of surprised with my stuff today.”
According to Baseball Savant, Ohtani's average fastball velocity was two miles per hour slower than his season average. He threw only four of them, the lowest of any pitch. He relied mostly on his slider, throwing it 48 percent of the time through 108 pitches and generating a CSW% (called strikes plus walks percentage) of 33 percent.
After the game, Shohei Ohtani also stated that he is having a better season than last year, when he was the unanimous American League MVP. Although Aaron Judge seems to have the award wrapped up amid his historic home-run chase, the Angels' two-way phenom is still in the conversation as he puts the finishing touches on another unreal season.
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