And on Wednesday, a few days after being named an All-Star as both a pitcher and hitter, Ohtani continued his hot steak — and made history again — this time in line with two historic performances.
The Japanese two-way star beat 12 Houston Astros batters in six innings and also went 2-for-4 with a two-run triple in the second inning in the Los Angeles Angels’ 7-1 win at Angel Stadium.
While winning his sixth straight start, he also set two records set by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
Ohtani became only the second Angels pitcher in franchise history to record at least 10 strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances, joining Ryan.
He was also the first Angels starter to hit a treble since Ryan on June 27, 1972 in Minnesota.
Ohtani, the reigning American League MVP, is firmly in the running to reclaim the title this season.
Despite facing stiff competition from the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez, Ohtani’s impact on the Angels’ victories this season has been strong.
A combination of his two-way skills keeps them unbeaten in six games in Ohtani starts, but in contrast, the team has a 12-32 record overall in recent weeks.
In those six starts, Ohtani had an incredible .45 ERA, a total of 58 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.
Prior to last year, no player had ever been selected as both a position player and a pitcher for the All-Star Game. Now he’s done it twice in two years.
His Wednesday performance came ahead of Astros manager Dusty Baker, who will manage the American League team for Tuesday’s All-Star Game. After that, Baker was full of praise.