The player some are calling the modern-day Babe Ruth was decidedly un-Ruthian on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium
Angels ace/slugger Shohei Ohtani, making his first career start as a pitcher at Yankee Stadium, labored through an ugly first inning before he was lifted with only two outs, having faced nine batters.
The Japanese right-hander never had it from the get-go, walking the first three batters he faced before serving up an RBI single to Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton. A two-run single by Gleyber Torres followed, and after retiring Rougned Odor and Miguel Andujar, Ohtani proceeded to plunk Clint Frazier and walk No. 9 hitter Brett Gardner, brining his night to an end.
Interestingly, the Yankee Stadium faithful treated Ohtani to something of a muted ovation as he made his way to the dugout. The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year had clubbed three homers in the series' first two games on Monday and Tuesday, so perhaps the fans were giving him props for that display, and also expressing relief that the opposition's best player was out of the game.
Shohei Ohtani may never have wanted to play for the Yankees but at least he got to walk off the mound in the Bronx to a standing ovation 😂 pic.twitter.com/QLlCUEfQGz
— Joe (GleyberRBW) (@Yankeelibrarian) June 30, 2021
With Ohtani leading off the Angels' lineup as the designated hitter -- he went 0-for-1 at the plate -- his exit from the game created a bind for manager Joe Maddon, who had to forge ahead with a short bench and no DH.
To make matters worse for Ohtani, Angels reliever Aaron Slegers promptly coughed up a bases-clearing double to Yankees slugger DJ LeMahieu, with all three runs being charged to Ohtani's ledger, since they reached base while he was on the mound.
The four-walk, two-hit, seven-run dud moved Ohtani's ERA a full run in the wrong direction, from 2.58 to 3.60. He has returned to pitching regularly after he was limited to mostly hitting in 2019 and '20, following Tommy John surgery in 2018.
