Read the full story on SportsLook - Shohei Ohtani Holds the Nationals to One Hit in Seven Scoreless Innings
Shohei Ohtani reminded everyone during the World Baseball Classic that he's one of the world's premier pitchers.
During the early days of the 2023 MLB season, Ohtani is doing the same thing.
The Los Angeles Angels ace held the Washington Nationals to one hit over seven scoreless innings on Tuesday, April 11 in Anaheim, California, as the hosts earned a 2-0 victory.
Ohtani improved to 2-0 in three starts this season. He has a sparkling 0.47 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 19 innings. But he's also walked 12 batters.
The Angels (6-5) scored a run in the fourth inning and added another in the sixth on a Logan O'Hoppe home run off Nationals starter Josiah Gray, who fell to 0-3. It was O'Hoppe's team-leading fourth homer of the year.
CJ Abrams had Washington's only hit of the game, a double to right with two outs in the fourth inning.
Venezuelan left-hander Jose Quijada pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Dominican reliever Carlos Estevez worked the ninth for his first save of the season.
Although Ohtani's control was a bit erratic, he never let the Nationals find their comfort zone on offense. Ohtani walked five batters, hit another and struck out six. He threw 92 pitches, 55 for strikes.
"If you look at the results on paper, they look great but I haven't had too many 1-2-3 innings as much as I would want," Ohtani told reporters through an interpreter, according to The Associated Press.
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Author: Ed Odeven
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