Shohei Ohtani didn’t record a single out in his highly anticipated return to the pitcher’s mound Sunday.
The Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way sensation walked three A’s batters, gave up three singles and exited his 2020 pitching debut with a 4-0 deficit at Oakland Coliseum. Ohtani threw 30 pitches, half of them balls, and ultimately was charged with five earned runs.
It began with a leadoff single from Oakland shortstop Marcus Semien. Ohtani then issued consecutive walks to Ramon Laureano, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson.
Mark Canha and Robbie Grossman followed with back-to-back singles before Ohtani gave way to Matt Andriese, who induced a double play and recorded a strikeout to limit the damage.
Ohtani, 26, averaged 93 mph on a fastball that can reach triple digits. He got to two strikes on two of the six batters he faced but couldn’t put them away.
The right-hander had a 3.10 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 49⅓ innings before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament in 2018, which led to an 18-month recovery. He also served as the Angels’ designated hitter before resuming his career as a starting pitcher.