In what could be his final home game in a Los Angeles Angels uniform, Shohei Ohtani’s line drive left his bat at a sizzling 113 mph, but only a 19-degree launch angle. Hugging the ground like an aircraft trying to fly below the radar, it streaked all the way over the center-field wall.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a ball hit like that, except a golf ball, maybe,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “I thought he lined out to center. I did. Every day he does something to impress you.”
The Angels and their fans left the Big A on Sunday not knowing whether that was the last piece of baseball magic they will ever see from Ohtani in the Halos’ home jersey on this field.
But another crucial victory made it even more likely they will have a minimum of two months to enjoy their two-way superstar.
Ohtani hit his major-league-leading 36th home run in Los Angeles’ final home game before the August 1 trade deadline, and the Angels wrapped up a strong homestand with a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ohtani’s low line drive in the opening inning was his 24th longball in his past 45 games. Only five other major leaguers entered Sunday with more than 24 homers for the entire season, but Ohtani has reignited his June power surge where he was hitting the cover off the ball, after the All-Star break with four homers during the Angels’ nine-game homestand.
“Every single time you see Shohei, he does something to help the team,” said Luis Rengifo, who hit two homers.
While Ohtani’s future is in limbo as the team heads to the ‘Motor City’, Detroit, the Angels recent team success seemingly decreases the chances of a trade while Los Angeles owner Arte Moreno decides whether to risk losing Ohtani in free agency this winter.
General manager Perry Minasian has said publicly the Angels are highly unlikely to deal Ohtani if they remain in the playoff hunt. The Angels are still in the AL wild-card race, although it currently is tightly packed with seven teams separated by roughly six games, jockeying for the final two spots.
Andrew Velazquez and Rengifo hit back-to-back homers during the Angels’ four-run fifth inning, and Mickey Moniak extended the majors’ longest active hitting streak to 14 games during the Angels sixth victory in eight games.
Tyler Anderson gave up eight hits while pitching into the seventh inning for the Angels. Closer Carlos Estévez worked the ninth for his 23rd save of the season, remaining perfect this season in save opportunities.
“It means a lot after how we finished the first half,” Estévez said of the Angels’ surge. “We figured out a way to get going again, and it feels really good. Things are going our way.”
Ohtani will take the bump Friday against Vladimir Guerrero and the Toronto Blue Jays Friday, Nevin said.
The Angels pushed back Ohtani’s final pitching appearance before the trade deadline to give him an extra day of rest and to avoid putting him in line to start a Wednesday afternoon game in hot, humid Atlanta versus the Braves the following week, one day after the trade deadline.
Nevin is concerned and wants to take precautions against the humidity causing a recurrence of the finger blister that bothered Ohtani earlier this month.
