ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Shohei Ohtani added one other first to his distinctive resume: first participant to get a win and hit a house run in All-Star play.
“I haven’t actually hit nicely throughout the All-Star Sport, so I’m simply relieved that I put a superb ball in play,” Ohtani mentioned via a translator after placing the Nationwide League forward with a three-run homer in Tuesday night time’s 5-3 loss to the American.
Ohtani had been 1 for 4 with a pair of walks and a strikeout in three earlier All-Star Video games. The primary two-way All-Star for 3 straight years via 2023, he obtained the win within the 2021 recreation at Denver’s Coors Discipline.
Ohtani walked within the first inning in opposition to Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, then got here to the plate within the third after Jurickson Profar singled main off and Ketel Marte reached on a 109.5 mph hit that deflected off second baseman Marcus Semien.
Tanner Houck fell behind 2-0 within the depend and Ohtani drove a splitter over the center of the plate 400 toes, a half-dozen rows into the right-field seats for his first All-Star dwelling run.
“I used to be actually simply centered on having an everyday at-bat as if I used to be within the common season,” Ohtani mentioned.
He’s 1 for five with three walks in opposition to Houck, hitting an RBI single whereas pitching the Los Angeles Angels to an 8-0 win at Boston on Might 5, 2022.
“A splitter, simply down, center,” Houck mentioned of the All-Star homer. “Get it away just a little bit extra, perhaps just a little bit higher pitch.”
Ohtani is hitting .316 with an NL-high 29 homers, 69 RBIs and 23 stolen bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He grew to become the primary Dodgers participant to homer in an All-Star Sport since Mike Piazza off Cleveland’s Charles Nagy in 1996 at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium.
A four-time All-Star enjoying 11 days after his thirtieth birthday, Ohtani was with the NL for the primary time after leaving the Angels to signal a file $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. He isn’t pitching this season following elbow surgical procedure final September.
In one of many night time’s marquee matchups, Ohtani confronted Oakland reliever Mason Miller within the fifth. Miller began him with a referred to as strike on a 100.6 mph pitch on the within nook, then threw a slider inside. Ohtani took a 101.8 mph pitch on the backside of the zone for strike two, then swung over a slider at his again foot.
“General, very heavy,” Ohtani mentioned. “He threw numerous actually good high quality pitches.”
Miller confronted Ohtani with a plan.
“I used to be simply making an attempt to execute fastballs down. I do know as soon as I established that, the slider beneath is open, so obtained proper to it,” Miller mentioned.
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