ANAHEIM — After skipping his previous start because of arm fatigue, Shohei Ohtani lasted just 26 pitches into his start on Wednesday before leaving the mound with head athletic trainer Mike Frostad.
The Angels announced that Ohtani was still bothered by “arm fatigue.”
Ohtani also came out of the game as the DH.
Ohtani has had issues in the past month with cramping, a blister and a cracked fingernail, even before his start was skipped because of fatigue.
Ohtani’s velocity was slightly down throughout the first five batters that he faced. In between, he slugged his league-leading 44th homer, a two-run blast in the bottom of the first.
In the top of the second, he threw a 2-and-2 fastball to Christian Encarnacion-Strand and then he looked in to the Angels dugout and shook his head. Manager Phil Nevin and Frostad came to the mound, and Ohtani left after a short discussion.
Left-handed starter Tyler Anderson then emerged from the bullpen to take Ohtani’s place. The fact that Anderson was even in the bullpen suggested the Angels had an idea that there might be an issue with Ohtani.
Before the game, Nevin said the Angels’ pitching rotation for this weekend’s series against the New York Mets was undetermined. Nevin said they would know more after seeing who they needed to pitch to get through Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Ohtani has a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings this season. He had been on pace for career-highs in innings and starts before he began having issues in early July.
More to come on this story.
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