ANAHEIM, Calif.—Shohei Ohtani struck out the side on 12 pitches in the first inning Friday night, April 21, throwing sweepers that broke horizontally like Frisbees and punctuating them with a 98.7-mph fastball. Angels manager Phil Nevin said he had never seen an inning more dominant during his nearly three decades in the big leagues.
Ohtani remained far too much for the Kansas City Royals to handle in his latest outstanding start.
Ohtani struck out a season-high 11 and allowed two hits over seven innings, and fill-in catcher Chad Wallach hit a two-run homer in Los Angeles’ 2–0 victory.
Ohtani (3–0) returned to the mound just four days after a lengthy rain delay limited him to two innings in Boston, and the two-way superstar didn’t miss a beat in his spectacular season on the mound. After fanning the side in that incredible first, Ohtani also struck out his final six batters—and in between, Kansas City managed two singles and two walks while getting just one runner to second base….