Shohei Ohtani: Continuing to excel as a pinch hitter

In last night’s LA Angels vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game, Shohei Ohtani wasn’t in the lineup.

There was no way, however, that Ohtani wouldn’t find a way to impact the game.

In came Ohtani to pinch hit for Juan Lagares in the eighth inning. He hit a hard line drive for a base hit and moved Taylor Ward to third. Ward ended up scoring on a sacrifice bunt from Kean Wong.

Shohei Ohtani has been a great pinch hitter for the LA Angels all season.

This marked the fourth pinch hit plate appearance of the season for Ohtani. In his previous three plate appearances as a pinch hitter, he walked, got hit by a pitch, and hit a 110.9 mph lineout to tie a game the Angels ended up winning vs. the Oakland A’s.

Now, he can add his first pinch hit at-bat of the season.

He continues to excel in whatever role he’s asked to thrive in.

He can pitch like an Ace, he can hit like an MVP, he can run the bases better than any other Angel, he can play the field, and he can rake off of the bench.

We knew he was clutch, but he continues to make an impact on baseball games that he’s not even supposed to be in.

The Angels were surprisingly down late, and Ohtani came to the rescue. This wasn’t just any ordinary win for the Angels, but a win that put them at .500 on the season.

We’re a .500 team that hasn’t even had our franchise player playing, and had to fire our pitching coach.

When Mike Trout gets back, this team is going to be right in the middle of the playoff race.