And on Wednesday, days after being named an All-Star as a pitcher and hitter, Ohtani continued his hot steak — once again in history — this time by matching two historic feats.
The two-way Japanese star knocked out 12 Houston Astros batters in six innings, also going 2-for-4 with a two-run triple in the second inning, in the Los Angeles Angels’ 7-1 victory at Angel Stadium.
Earning his sixth straight start, he also tied two records set by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
Ohtani became just the second Angels pitcher in franchise history to record at least 10 strikeouts in four straight appearances, joining Ryan.
He also became the first Angels starter to score a hat-trick since Ryan on June 27, 1972 in Minnesota.
Ohtani, the reigning American League MVP, has put himself firmly in contention to reclaim the title this season.
Despite facing fierce competition from judge Aaron of the New York Yankees and Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros, Ohtani’s impact on the Angels’ wins this season has been brutal.
Thanks to a combination of his skills both ways, they are on a six-game unbeaten streak in Ohtani’s starts but, by contrast, the team as a whole is 12-32 in recent years. weeks.
In those six starts, Ohtani had an incredible 0.45 ERA, also totaling 58 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.
Prior to last year, no player had ever been selected for the All-Star Game as both a position player and a pitcher. Now he’s done it twice in two years.
His Wednesday performance came ahead of Astros manager Dusty Baker, who will lead the American League team to the All-Star Game on Tuesday. Afterwards, Baker was full of praise.
