Los Angeles Angels Scratch Shohei Ohtani From Saturday Start
Shohei Ohtani has been scratched as the starting pitcher Saturday for the Los Angeles Angels, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Shohei Ohtani is no longer starting pitcher today. Reason unknown, but Angels say it is NOT injury related. He is still the DH.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) March 26, 2022
Joe Maddon will address reasons shortly.
The Angels have yet to give a reason as to why Ohtani was scratched, but he is still in the lineup as the designated hitter, so that would seem to indicate that an injury is not involved. One possible reason for his scratch today could be that the Angels play today’s opponent, the Chicago White Sox, later this month. Perhaps the Angels don’t want to give the White Sox a sneak peek at Ohtani. The Angels did name Ohtani as their Opening Day starter earlier this week.
Ohtani is a unicorn in the game today. Last season he went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP and struck out 156 batters in 130.1 IP as a starter. He also hit 46 HR and drove in 100 runs, with a .257 average in 639 at-bats.
The Angels are +400 to win the American League West, trailing only the Houston Astros at -170. You can find the odds for these teams and all others to win their division at the FanDuel Sportsbook.
