ANAHEIM — Shohei Ohtani did indeed return from a lengthy three-city road trip that had the potential to spit out a revamped roster before it ended, although more of the club’s misfortune returned as well.
With a two-run lead and two outs away from a victory, the Angels watched it all slip away in a 5-3 loss when the Seattle Mariners’ Cade Marlowe hit a grand slam off of All-Star closer Carlos Estevez.
The defeat, in the return from a nine-game trip, spoiled another game effort from Ohtani, who departed his start from the mound after four innings, but he completed the game on offense by hitting his 40th home run of the season in the eighth inning.
The Angels eventually announced the pitching appearance stalled out after Ohtani experienced cramping in his right middle finger, although he admitted he was starting to cramp elsewhere. It did nothing to alter his swing.
In Ohtani’s typical stand-up fashion, he pointed to his shortcomings in the heartbreaking defeat.
“Ideally, I wish I could have gone 100 pitches and saved the bullpen – helped them out,” Ohtani said through an interpreter when asked how tough of a loss it was. “A loss is a loss. It happens. You just have to turn the page.”
With the Angels seemingly in control from the mound, Estevez loaded the bases in the ninth on a pair of walks and a single by Dominic Canzone. After Teoscar Hernandez struck out, Marlowe hit a towering shot into the seats in right field, for his second home run in his 12th career game.
“It is tough but we have a lot more games to go and I know all these guys in this room have my back,” Estevez said. “That’s all that matters man. We’re a team, we have good chemistry and we’re going to get back at it tomorrow.”
The start was Ohtani’s first since he fired a one-hit shutout last Thursday against the Detroit Tigers. More importantly, to Angels faithful, is that it was Ohtani’s first start and home game since the club elected to hang on to their two-way star and not trade him away for a package of young talent before Tuesday’s deadline.
The implication of not making an Ohtani trade was clear: The Angels intend to make a playoff push now, rather than later, although a healthy Ohtani is paramount in those plans. So is an effective bullpen.
From the mound Thursday, Ohtani went four scoreless innings, allowing three hits with one walk and four strikeouts. At the plate, he reached base four times on a pair of hits and two walks.
“It was cramping and he couldn’t get (the finger) to straighten out and he told me he couldn’t pitch anymore,” Manager Phil Nevin said. “I’ve always trusted him and his body and what he is and when he tells me that and tells me he can’t go anymore, he can’t go anymore.”
For the third time in eight days, though, Ohtani was affected by cramping. After his one-hit shutout in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Detroit, he experienced body cramping while hitting two home runs in Game 2. A day later, in Toronto, he had lower leg cramps that prevented him from hitting in the ninth inning.
On Wednesday, Ohtani had four plate appearances in an afternoon game in hot and steamy Atlanta, flew cross country then experienced his hand cramps Thursday on a mild evening at Angel Stadium.
“As of now I’m going to be on my normal schedule preparing to make my next start, but depending where the team is and what Phil wants to do, we’ll go from there,” Ohtani said.
Does he need a day out of the lineup?
“That’s something I can’t really decide on my own, (it’s) something we gotta talk about as a team, but like I said, every game’s gonna matter from here on out,” Ohtani said. “Personally, I don’t feel like I want to take any days off. I’m not the only one who’s fatigued. Everyone else is in the same boat.”
He still did more than his fair share. After Ohtani threw his final pitch in the top of the fourth, he worked a walk in the bottom of the inning. Ohtani walked again in the sixth inning and scored the game-tying run after a stolen base and a single from C.J. Cron.
The hit gave Cron a career-best and MLB-leading 13-game hit streak and he scored on a double by Mike Moustakas for a 2-1 Angels lead. Cron has played in four of those 13 games with the Angels after arriving in a trade from the Colorado Rockies.
Two innings after Ohtani departed the mound, Angels right-hander Jose Soriano gave up a home run to Eugenio Suarez. It was Suarez’s ninth consecutive game with an RBI to tie a Mariners record.
Ohtani’s line-drive home run to right field in the eighth gave the Angels what appeared to be the insurance they needed with a 3-1 lead.
Instead, Estevez blew his first save opportunity of the season after he successfully completed his first 23 chances.
“Just gotta turn the page, have a short memory and go back at it tomorrow,” Ohtani said.
40TH OF THE YEAR
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Seattle Slam.
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Postgame thoughts from Nevin
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Ohtani spoke to the media following tonight’s outing
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