Angels News: Phil Nevin Admits Shohei Ohtani is Tiring Amid Grueling Stretch
The Angels desperately need wins if they are to justify holding onto the game's best player in Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline. Their home series against San Francisco provided two crucial victories after a brutal seven-game skid.
On Wednesday night, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to tally 10 wins as a pitcher and hit 40 homers in the same season, displaying the truly unmatched greatness that we are lucky enough to witness.
Ohtani has continued his excellence over the last few weeks, but the sheer number of games he has played, some as a pitcher and all as a designated hitter, is getting to him.
"He's tired," said manager Phil Nevin. "That's 16 straight games in 16 days. He's tired. He told me going into the sixth that the gas was running low, but he went out there and threw a clean inning."
(Via MLB.com)
Ohtani did earn a mound visit by head athletic trainer Mike Frostad and Nevin after hitting a batter and giving Joc Pederson a 1-0 count, but the pitcher finished the inning without letting up a hit. Despite only allowing three hits and zero earned runs, Ohtani was disappointed with his performance.
"Throughout the whole game, I was just frustrated with the way I was pitching," Ohtani said. "I didn't really fell right the whole game."
(Via MLB.com)
Ohtani has been on a heater from the mound after a 14 ER, 16.1 IP stretch in early July. In his last three appearances, he has thrown 19 innings and has allowed zero earned runs. Ohtani threw his first complete game in late July against Detroit, only allowing one hit.
Ohtani has battled for over a month with a cracked fingernail and a blister on his middle finger. However, his performance at the plate hasn't suffered too much. In August, Ohtani is hitting .323/.447/.484. The only noticeable drop off is in his slugging percentage, as Ohtani recorded a .775 percentage in July.
