Shohei Ohtani truly is the modern-day Babe Ruth. Thursday at Fenway Park serves as the latest example of the Bambino’s second coming.
Ohtani will take the mound as the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels in the series finale against the Red Sox. The dual-threat Japanese phenom will also hit third in the Halos’ lineup.
As Angels media relations pointed out, Ohtani is the first starting pitcher to bat in the top four spots of the batting order in a game at Fenway since Ruth himself did it for the Yankees back on Sept. 20, 1919.
Ohtani, who has battled a groin injury this season, hasn’t been quite as effective as he was last year when he won the American League MVP with a historic campaign. A season ago, he hit 46 home runs with 100 runs batted in while also going 9-2 in 23 (pitching) starts, striking out 11 batters per nine innings.
The 27-year-old entered Thursday’s game with a 2-2 record on the mound behind a 4.19 ERA while striking out 30 of the 80 batters he’s faced. At the plate, his .684 OPS is nearly 200 points below his career mark, but he still has four home runs and 12 RBIs through 25 games.
