Los Angeles Angels rookie Shohei Ohtani had an impressive week. How impressive? So impressive that he became the first player to do something since Babe Ruth: Homering three times in between starts.
Ohtani made his second pitching start on Sunday, taking on the Oakland Athletics once again. The first encounter is supposed to favor the pitcher, the second the hitter. Ohtani is both a pitcher and a hitter, so perhaps convention doesn't apply to him in any true sense. For evidence of that, consider how Ohtani took a perfect game through six innings.
Unfortunately, for Ohtani, he yielded a single to Marcus Semien with one out in the seventh, ending both his bids. He still managed to get through the seventh having allowed just one hit, one walk, and no runs, while striking out 12. What's more is Ohtani recorded an absurd 24 swinging strikes on just 91 pitches. He missed bats with 16 of his 34 splitters, and eight of his 42 fastballs. His fastball topped out at 99.6 mph, and he even threw a curveball that clocked in at 68.5 mph. That's a 31 mph gap between fastest and slowest pitches. Ridiculous.
Had Ohtani closed out the perfect game, it would've been the second in franchise history. Mike Witt twirled one back when the Angels still went by the "California" moniker. (It's perhaps worth noting that John Lackey retired 27 batters in a row in a July 2006 start, but it came after a leadoff double.) Meanwhile, an Ohtani no-hitter would've been the 11th in franchise history, and the first since Jered Weaver blanked the Minnesota Twins in 2012.
Alas, none of the above was meant to be on Sunday. That doesn't mean Ohtani won't accomplish one or the other before the season is out.