Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is missing his next start, but there is no major injury news for fans to panic over as the likely MVP looks to finish his record-breaking season strong.
Ohtani is skipping his next start against the Texas Rangers this week, and will be returning next week when the Angels are hosting the Cincinnati Reds following their road trip, according to Jeff Fletcher of SoCal News Group. His manager Phil Nevin says he is suffering from fatigue, and does not have any injury that is keeping him out.
Angels fans may need to panic about the playoff chase instead, as the team is rapidly running out of time in the AL wildcard race. LA is now 6.5 games back from the final spot, and fading fast with just over a month and a half remaining.
Last week, Angels fans were blaming the rapper Drake for Ohtani's slump. Drake was spotted after one of his concerts rocking Ohtani's All-Star game jersey, and the star immediately went 2-for-12 with 7 strikeouts after the appearance.
The Angels also lost seven games in a row following the alleged curse, and have struggled to right the ship in the days since. They have won only two of their last 10, and still do not have their star hitters Mike Trout or Anthony Rendon back from injury.
While they aren't out of it yet, there massive losing skid immediately after deciding to go all-in at the trade deadline didn't help out their chances. Ohtani and his team were above .500 and cruising towards a playoff run with new additions, but are instead floundering down the stretch as they try to make one last gasp.