Ohtani, the top MVP of the American League, became the first player in AL / NL history to both throw his team’s first court of the season and face his team’s first court of the season as a player. Ohtani was dulled on the embankment – allowing a three-hit streak in 4 2/3 innings with nine hits – but came away with a 3-1 defeat by the Astros on Thursday in front of a sold-out crowd at Angel Stadium. He also got 0-for-4 on the plate, including a two-out streak in the eighth, only to hit a high ball to the right to finish the inning. “My splitter was a bit ubiquitous, but I felt good about fastball, curveball and slider,” Ohtani told Ippei Mizuhara. “I had the opportunity in my last leg to equalize the game, but I could not pass, which was disappointing. On the pitch side, I felt the number of pitches was high and did not allow me to stay in the game longer.” The two-way superstar made his first career on Opening Day as a pizzeria, beating Jose Altuve to start the game on his way to a first inning without a score, despite allowing a single and walking a stroke. He also won the lead for the Angels, making the first pitch from Framber Valdez in a short time and almost surpassing a single in the infield. It reached 29.7 feet per second on its way to the top, which is just a tick below the 30 feet per second that are considered elite by Statcast. That means Ohtani was the first Angels player to pick up the mound this season – and the first Angels player to hit the box. He left the embankment with two outs in the fifth after he had thrown 80 pitches. Thanks to the “Ohtani Rule”, he stayed in the game as the designated player and had two more bats. “Overall, I was quite satisfied with the way I felt on the plate, even though the results were not there,” Ohtani said. “In my last at-bat, I almost forgot I was playing and just felt like DH.” On the mound, he kept the Astros players out of balance throughout his excursion, including hitting Altuve three times. He was just the fourth pitcher to hit Altouve three times in a game, along with Matt Kane, Jacques Greinke and Max Scherzer. His nine hits also finished fourth in Angels history on Start Day. He calmed down after a first inning that saw him reach at least 98 mph with his fastball 14 times, including a 99.8 heater to open the game. He found himself in a groove, scoring four batters in a row, but gave a double with two outs to Michael Brantley and an RBI single to Alex Bregman with Jo Adell throwing for the house to sail halfway between the first base and the home plate. “You saw the gun tonight with a lot of 97s and 99s,” said manager Joe Maddon. “In the past, the first part of the game would have been smaller numbers until he needed it. But right now, even when he needed it, he still does these things. His slider and curveball were fine, but he hung some splits. Ohtani re-installed, including hitting the side in the fourth. He made Yuli Gurriel look at a 98 mph fastball, Kyle Tucker swing at an 80 mph curveball and Jeremy Peña swing at an 84 mph slider. He gave Chas McCormick a double lead in the fifth on a ball that Adell did not miss and left after hitting Altuve for the third time for the second out. Lefty Aaron Loup came in and hit Brantley to finish the inning. “I had to get him out of there after 80 pitches because that was kind of our number limit,” Maddon said. “He would have to work very hard to come out last. And Loup did a great job. But again, nothing is too fast or too big for him.” Ohtani, 27, comes from a season that saw him score 46 home games, 26 steals and 100 RBIs last season, while scoring 9-2 with 3.18 ERA and 156 hits as a pitcher. And he has stated that he believes he can be even better this year. “What he did last year should boost his confidence, I imagine, and he looks very confident this year,” Maddon said. “The way he does it is in a moment and he is in control.”
