“No one can hit except Ohtani, so why compete?”
It was the talk of the town a few days ago. Even his LA Angels teammate couldn’t deny it, saying, “I think we’re all thinking the same thing.” The Toronto Blue Jays went on to issue four intentional walks to Ohtani, but only lost one run in the process.
Eventually, the Angels made the trade. On July 31, the Angels agreed to a two-for-two trade with the Colorado Rockies. The Angels acquired pitcher Mason Albright, the eighth-ranked prospect, and pitcher Jake Maddon, the 28th-ranked prospect, in exchange for third baseman Randall Grichuk and outfielder CJ Cron.
LA Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani leads the majors in home runs, OPS (on-base percentage), and slugging percentage at 31. But he’s fighting a lonely battle without a designated hitter.
Ohtani hit a home run in the first inning against Toronto at Rogers Centre in Canada on May 29. Afterward, there was an interesting scene in the Toronto dugout. Toronto infielder Matt Chapman was seen making an unhappy protest to manager John Schneider.
Many outlets, including USA Today, analyzed the shape of Chapman’s mouth and speculated that he was saying, “What the hell is the point of playing Ohtani? He’s the only guy in that lineup who can hit.”
Chapman later said of the scene, “I mean that in a good way. I’m a competitive person. I just wanted to win. It’s not negative or anything like that, I just get a little carried away sometimes,” he said, acknowledging that the media speculation was correct.
Toronto went on to deny Ohtani every time he had a scoring chance. He was called for intentional walks four times. In none of the cases did the subsequent batter get a hit. Only one run scored on a pushout. Toronto’s intentional walks were a huge success.카지노사이트
Chapman’s point that there was no one to hit behind Ohtani was true.
His Angels teammates couldn’t deny it. Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe had a bittersweet smile on his face after hitting the game-winning home run.
Renfroe’s two-run homer in the 31st inning gave the Angels a 3-2 victory. The previous two games were won by Toronto, 4-1 and 6-1. Toronto nearly swept the three-game series, thanks to the intentional walk-off by Ohtani.
“I think Toronto did what they needed to do,” Renfroe said of this reality, according to Japanese outlet Full Count. Ohtani is unstoppable. Toronto did what they had to do to win. I can understand that. I’m aware of Chapman’s comments. I think we’re all on the same page.”
The Angels have since bolstered their lineup. Grichuk is a switch-hitter who is batting .308 on the season. Cron has just 11 home runs this year, but he hit 28 in 2021 and 29 in 2022.