Ohtani, though, didn’t quite have his best stuff, as his fastball velocity was down a few ticks and he couldn’t quite locate his splitter consistently. He still turned in a strong outing, allowing one run over six innings, but it came in an eventual 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay in 10 innings in the series finale at Angel Stadium.
Ohtani’s fastball averaged 96 mph — down from his season average of 97.2 mph — and topped out at 93.3 mph in his final inning. He insisted after the game he’s healthy and not dealing with anything more than some possible fatigue.
“Looking at my velocity, I didn’t feel the best today, but I was able to get through six innings,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “We just finished up a stretch of 20 straight games and fatigue does build up, not just me, but the whole team. So that could be a factor.”
Ohtani couldn’t match his dominant start against the Red Sox on Thursday, when he struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, but he was still effective, giving up just two hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Ohtani didn’t factor into the decision — thanks to a game-tying pinch-hit homer from Taylor Ward in the eighth — and is 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings (six starts) this season.
“He just competed and gave us a chance to win again today,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “Again, his schedule is a bit different than everybody else’s. To get through six like that. I thought it was great. He’s fine….