Major League Baseball: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Shohei Ohtani got his first major league home run and his first celebratory ice bath. There could more on the way for the Japanese sensation.
Ohtani hit a three-run homer in his first Angel Stadium at-bat to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 13-2 on Tuesday night.
Shohei put on a display of the type of talent he has tonight, manager Mike Scioscia said. He showed the power. He showed the ability to just square up a baseball, and he had a great night for us.
Ohtani capped a six-run first inning by lifting a ball out to center on a 2-2 pitch from Josh Tomlin. He got the silent treatment from teammates when he returned to the dugout, but not from the crowd. After players broke character and jumped around Ohtani to celebrate, Mike Trout pointed to the field and instructed Ohtani to take a curtain call.
It was a tradition Ohtani wasnt familiar with. The postgame dousing, however, Ohtani had seen on television.
Kole Calhoun snuck up behind Ohtani after the game as he was about to give a television interview and dumped ice water all over the 23-year-old.
It obviously felt really, really good, Ohtani said through an interpreter, drying himself as he spoke to the crowd.
Ohtani is the first player to win as a starting pitcher, then start and homer as a non-pitcher in his next game in the same season since Babe Ruth in 1921, according to STATS LLC. He is also the first player with four hits, a home run and a win in his first six games since Bostons Wes Ferrell in 1937, and the first rookie with at least three hits and a win in his first six games since Dutch Stryker of the 1924 Boston Braves.
Trout, Justin Upton and Luis Valbuena also homered for the Angels. Rene Rivera had four RBIs, including a two-run shot in the eighth.
Los Angeles Garrett Richards (1-0) gave up two runs and one hit while striking out nine in 5 2/3 innings.
Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the first for the Indians, but Tomlin (0-1) gave up eight runs and eight hits in three innings.
It was obviously a tough start and he was never able to settle in, Indians manager Terry Francona said. They all swung the bat good tonight.
Ohtanis shot would have been a grand slam, except Calhoun had scored on a wild pitch earlier in the at-bat. He finished 3 for 4, including a hard-hit liner for a single in the eighth. Stat-cast measured his last hit at 112.8 mph, the hardest-hit ball by an Angels player this season.
After getting my first hit out of the way, I felt more comfortable and relaxed, Ohtani said. And everyone around me was doing a good job too, making it tough for the pitcher. That was a factor.
The homer was Ohtanis second hit in the majors his first was in his first big league at-bat, at Oakland last Thursday. He also struck out the first batter he faced in his first start as a pitcher Sunday.
