Ohtani exits pitching start with blister on pitching hand
Published
Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani left his start against the San Diego Padres in the sixth inning with a blister on his right middle finger, the team announced.
Ohtani pitched five-plus innings against the Padres, where he surrendered five runs on seven hits with four walks. He left after allowing a home run to Jake Cronenworth.
The former American League MVP entered this game with an extra day of rest from a pitching standpoint - his start was pushed back a day because of a cracked fingernail on his pitching hand.
When Ohtani was checked on by the team trainer, they appeared to be focused on his finger. The team has provided no official update at this point.
The Angels were trailing 5-1 when Ohtani departed. They got bad news with their other superstar, Mike Trout, who was placed on the injured list earlier on Tuesday with a fractured hamate bone in his hand. The three-time AL MVP is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
Ohtani, who won the 2021 AL MVP, is off to another MVP-level campaign this season through three months; he leads the AL in home runs (31), triples (5), total bases (217) and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.054) through 85 games played.
The two-way player also holds a 3.02 earned runs average with 127 strikeouts in 95.1 innings entering Tuesday's game.
Additionally, third baseman Anthony Rendon also left the game with a left shin contusion after he fouled a pitch off his own knee.