Shohei Ohtani breaks 50-year-old Angels franchise record
Arguments about whether Shohei Ohtani is better than Babe Ruth or not have a new reference point, as the Japanese captain surpasses a mark set by Nolan Ryan.
There is no doubt that one of the biggest names, biggest draws, and biggest talents in Major League Baseball today is Shohei Ohtani.
The two-way superstar has long drawn comparisons with the Bambino Babe Ruth, both of whom possessed hitting power and pitching prowess. Now, he marks the sand with a purely pitching based record.
In Tuesday’s 2-0 win over the Washington Nationals, the Angels’ starter held the visitors to just one hit over seven innings, setting a new franchise record.
Previously, the franchise record for consecutive starts surrendering two or fewer runs was nine games, set by the legendary Nolan Ryan back in 1973. That run began at the tail end of 1972 season and had been the high water mark for half a century.
Shohei Ohtani so far this season:
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 12, 2023
19 innings pitched -> 1 run allowed, 24 strikeouts
47 times at the plate -> .300 AVG, .404 OBP, .575 SLG
The insanity continues. pic.twitter.com/mSWFcBSeew
Now, the Japanese captain has started 10 games with two runs allowed or fewer, starting in August when he gave up three runs to the Detroit Tigers.
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Ohtani’s night wasn’t great on the whole, however, as he walked five batters and struggled to find the strike zone, but when he did he was characteristically dominant, striking out six. On the other side of the score line, Sho-time went 1 for 4 in an underwhelming evening.
With this win, the Angels improved to 6-5 on the season and closed the series out winning two of the three against the Nationals. They will travel to Boston to face the Red Sox in a four-game weekend where they try and maintain their hold on the AL West, where they are dead even with the Texas Rangers and a game and a half in front of the Astros.