5G no home run → 2G 4 home run, Ohtani, why is this all of a sudden “all hits are long hits”

Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani토스카지노 (29) tied for the most strikeouts in a single game with 13 strikeouts, but he couldn’t laugh. This is because the number of long hits increased noticeably as he hit two home runs in two consecutive games. 

Ohtani started the 2023 major league away game against the St. Louis Cardinals held at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on the 4th (Korean time), and retired without a win or loss with 5 hits (2 homers), 1 walk, 1 walk, 13 strikeouts and 4 runs in 5 innings. it happened 

Ohtani, who cleared the requirement for the first loss of the season as the Angels won 6-4, rose from 1.85 to 2.54 ERA. Two homers in two consecutive games following the match against the Oakland Athletics on the 28th of last month (6 innings, 5 runs), which was the previous appearance. 

In the first five games of the season, Ohtani did not hit a single home run in 28 innings, but in the last two games, he allowed 4 homers in 11 innings. In the previous game against Oakland, he was hit twice in the 4th inning, and on this day, Nolan Gorman gave the first run with a solo shot, and then Dylan Carson hit a come-from-behind two-run gun in the 4th inning. 

According to Japanese media such as ‘Sankei Sports’, Ohtani said after the game, “I was careless about the part where I hit the home run. He wanted to throw up to the 6th and 7th innings, but it’s a pity that he only threw 5 innings.” All hits turned out to be long hits. Allowing the ball to float is the biggest point of reflection today,” he said. 

Even before hitting a come-from-behind two-run home run in the 4th inning, Nolan Arenado and Wilson Contreras hit back-to-back doubles and conceded runs. All three long hits, including the home run hit by Carson, were targeted by the sweeper, the main weapon. Although the ball was formed low, the rate of use of the sweeper increased, and it seemed to be caught in the target number of hitters. 

Of the 97 pitches Ohtani threw that day, the sweeper had the most with 52 pitches. Even for the entire season, the rate of use of the sweeper is 48.1%, which is close to half. No matter how powerful a ball is, if it is thrown too often, it will inevitably be read. The home run hit by Shay Langellias earlier in the game against Oakland was also hit by a sweeper. 

However, at least the game today seems to have had an impact on the environment at Busch Stadium. Regarding the long hit allowed, Ohtani said, “There was a deviation in the change of the ball rather than a command issue. The field environment was different, and the mound was a bit hollow, but it wasn’t too much to worry about. It was a very dry day,” he said. 

When the day is dry, both the ball and the bat tend to dry out and the batted ball tends to reach farther. There were a total of 5 home runs in the game. Ohtani hit two, and Angels batters hit three. Following Brandon Drury’s tying solo shot in the 2nd inning, Jake Lam’s tying solo shot in the 9th inning and Mike Trout’s final solo shot broke out. As Ohtani said, this day may be affected by dry weather.