Los Angeles (AFP) – Japanese two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani endured an up-and-down outing on the mound in his spring training debut for Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.
Ohtani allowed two runs, one earned, over 1 1/3 innings in his much anticipated Cactus League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers in Tempe, Arizona.
He surrendered two hits, including a leadoff home run to Keon Broxton in the second inning. Ohtani struck out two, walked one and threw 31 pitches.
There were some command issues — including one wild pitch from the 23-year-old who wants to become the first player in almost a century to pitch and hit regularly in the major leagues.
Ohtani also showed some of the weapons that had a multitude of major league teams chasing him, including a 97 mph (156.11 Km/h) fast ball and a 69 mph curveball.
He gave up a leadoff double to Jonathan Villar in the fist inning, then struck out Nathan Orf swinging before walking Choi Ji-man to put runners on first and second.
The Brewers scored their first run of the game after Villar advanced to third on a wild pitch then scored on a throwing error by catcher Martin Maldonado.
Ohtani struck out Brett Phillips to end the inning, stranding Choi at third.
Ohtani, dubbed the Babe Ruth of Japan for his combined pitching prowess and explosive presence at the plate, is embarking on his first major league season after five seasons in Japan, where he led the Nippon-Ham Fighters to their first championship in 10 years in 2016.
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