We’re running out of superlatives to describe Shohei Ohtani. The Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way superstar continues to take things to new levels.
On Thursday night in a 7-1 win over the Houston Astros, Ohtani was the starting pitcher and leadoff hitter.
As the pitcher, Ohtani went six innings, allowing four hits and one earned run, with two walks and 12 strikeouts. Do the quick math, and that comes out to two strikeouts per inning (and he struck out three batters in his final inning of work). He touched 101 mph on the radar gun.
At the plate, Ohtani went 2-for-4, walked, and drove in two runs with a triple to give the Angels a 3-0 lead in the second inning.
What Ohtani is doing over the last five weeks is absolutely ridiculous. He has a 0.45 ERA and 58 strikeouts over his last six starts.
He becomes the sixth pitcher in MLB history to strike out 45 batters and allow no more than one earned run over a four-game span.
He joins Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers in Angels history to have at least 10 strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
And on Wednesday night, he did all of this against an Astros team that’s tied for the best record in MLB at 57-30.
It’s absolutely incredible, and Ohtani’s chances to repeat as AL MVP are looking pretty strong (though he will have tough competition from the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge).