Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani notched a few historical feats on Tuesday in a 5-1 victory against the Oakland Athletics (box score).
For one, Ohtani became the first American League pitcher to hit a home run and throw six scoreless innings in the same contest since Dave McNally did it with the Baltimore Orioles in 1972. McNally's game, coincidentally, also occurred on Aug. 9, or 50 years to the day, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
It should be noted that McNally's game occurred before the implementation of the designated hitter. That would take place in 1973, the following season. Ohtani, meanwhile, served as both the Angels' starting pitcher and their designated hitter on Tuesday night, giving his performance a distinction.
Ohtani finished his night with six shutout frames. He surrendered four hits and three walks while punching out five batters on 91 pitches. Ohtani was struck by a comebacker in the third inning, and he limped off the field afterward. He showed no ill effects, however, and continued on without duress.
Ohtani notched a pair of hits at the plate, including his 25th home run of the season. That home run was the 118th of his career, moving him past Ichiro Suzuki for the second-most in Major League Baseball by a Japanese-born player. Only Hideki Matsui, who homered 175 times in the majors, has more.
As Sarah Langs of MLB.com noted, Ohtani now has two seasons in which he's homered 25-plus times and struck out 150-plus batters. Those are the only two such seasons in league history.
Ohtani entered Tuesday having hit .253/.344/.492 (134 OPS+) in 456 plate appearances. On the mound, he had accumulated a 2.83 ERA (142 ERA+) and a 6.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 starts and 105 innings.