On the surface, Thursday's performance by Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani looked like any other. Ohtani did surrender five runs, including two homers, though he dazzled with his strikeout stuff, sending 10 Toronto Blue Jays back to the dugout by way of the ‘K.' However, the Angels star was dealing with an injury throughout the outing. Ohtani suffered a back injury during Thursday's loss to the Blue Jays, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.

“As of now, I don't think it's a big issue,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “But we'll have to wait until [Friday] to see how it feels. I'd definitely say my back [caused the velocity decrease]. I was able to get a bunch of strikeouts, but I wasn't pitching at my full strength.”

Ohtani said he doesn't think the back injury is “a big issue” following the game against the Blue Jays. What was concerning is the fact that the Angels hurler lost 1.6 MPH on his fastball in the outing against Toronto, which likely led to some of the hard-hit balls he allowed.

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Even more concerning is the fact that Ohtani said the back injury “caused the velocity decrease.” It's definitely not time for Angels fans to panic, as Ohtani was still able to rely on his arsenal of pitches to induce 17 swinging strikes against the Blue Jays. The trademark swing-and-miss stuff was there for the Angels star.

However, his back injury will certainly be worth monitoring heading into the weekend, as the team plays two more against the Blue Jays before embarking on a six-game road trip.