Shohei Ohtani makes final MVP push, takes no-hitter into eighth vs. Athletics
Ohtani makes final MVP push, takes no-no into eighth vs. A’s originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
A day after Aaron Judge hit an American League-record-tying 61st homer, Shohei Ohtani did his best job to upstage the New York Yankees star.
Ohtani no-hit the Athletics through 7 2/3 innings before Conner Capel broke it up with an infield single to shortstop.
Dermis Garcia followed with another base hit but Ohtani was able to get out of the jam, preserving the Angels’ lead. Los Angeles would go on to win 4-2 at Angels Stadium after Oakland scored twice in the top of the ninth inning.
In eight innings of work, Ohtani allowed two hits and walked one batter while striking out 10. With his masterful performance against the A’s, the reigning AL MVP lowered his ERA from 2.47 to 2.35. Ohtani served as the designated hitter for the Angels and went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The A’s entered the night with the longest streak without being no-hit, dating back to July 13, 1991 when four Baltimore Orioles pitchers combined to keep Oakland hitless.
That streak, which came close to ending on this night, will continue.
The A’s have MLB’s longest active streak of AVOIDING no hitters.
It’s been 31 years, 2 months, 16 days since a combined no-no by Baltimore at the Coliseum on July 13, 1991.
— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) September 30, 2022
While the A’s were able to avoid getting no-hit, they weren’t able to elude their 100th loss of the season. With six games remaining in the 2022 season, Oakland now sits at 56-100.
While Judge is in contention for the Triple Crown in the AL and leads the league in most offensive categories, Ohtani has been putting up eye-popping stats on the mound and in the batter’s box.
In addition to his 2.35 ERA, he now has 213 strikeouts in 161 innings pitched. With the bat, he has 29 doubles, 34 homers and 93 RBI this season.
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The voting in the AL MVP race between Judge and Ohtani is expected to be one of the closest in recent memory. Judge is having one of the best offensive seasons in MLB history, while Ohtani is accomplishing something only done by Babe Ruth.
If voters needed a reminder of what Ohtani is capable of, they got it Thursday night.
Source: Yahoo Sports
