Shohei Ohtani’s rough day at least had one lighthearted moment with Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz.
During the second game of a doubleheader between the Angels and Reds on Thursday night in Anaheim, Ohtani ripped a double in the fifth inning, which promoted the Cincinnati rookie to confirm if the slugger was actually real.
As the Reds, who swept the twinbill with a 7-3 win in Game 2, made a pitching change to replace starter Lyon Richardson, De La Cruz went up to Ohtani and poked Ohtani’s left elbow, appearing to make sure he was in fact a real person.
The two shared plenty of smiles and laughs during the moment and Ohtani even seemed to poke fun at De La Cruz’s swing.
In the first game of the twinbill, though, it was De La Cruz who had an unreal performance on the field.
The 21-year-old went 2-for-5 with a homer and a triple, driving in six runs and scoring two as the Reds prevailed in a 9-4 victory.
The game, however, had gotten off to a strong start for the Angels and Ohtani, who ripped his 44th homer in the first inning and struck out two on the mound, including De La Cruz.
But Ohtani suffered from arm fatigue in the middle of the second inning, and he was replaced by Tyler Anderson on the rubber while Nolan Schanuel took over in the lineup.
After the doubleheader, the Angels announced Ohtani has a tear in his elbow and will not pitch for the rest of 2023.
It’s not yet clear if he will need surgery for the injury.
Angels manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani’s been bothered by the lingering issue but did not have any “pain.”
“He told me he didn’t feel any pain,” Nevin said after Game 1. “It was just more of the same thing he’s been feeling for the last couple of weeks.”
“In the second (inning, Ohtani’s velocity) was down. I was noticing the shapes on his pitches just weren’t the same, and I just saw a look after a pitch, so I decided to go out there and check on him.”
Ohtani was back in the lineup for the nightcap, batting second in the order.
Both the stars finished the second game with the same batting line: 1-for-5 with a run scored.
— With AP