Former Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani commented on his return to the mound at Angel Stadium and pitching against former teammate Mike Trout.
After serving solely as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ designated hitter in 2024, Ohtani made his return to the mound for the first time since leaving the Halos this season. He pitched against the Angels at Angel Stadium for the first time on Wednesday, though didn’t have an especially successful outing.
He went further into the game than he had all season, 4.1 innings, but allowed four earned runs on five hits, both of which were season highs. The Angels went on to win the game, 6-5.
Despite the result of the game, Ohtani still carried positive sentiment for his former team.
“I had a lot of good memories being on this stadium. It’s one of my favorite stadiums to play on. So it was a really important mark for me to be able to pitch on this mound again,” Ohtani said.
Ohtani faced Trout twice before leaving the mound, catching the 11-time All-Star looking twice. He recorded seven strikeouts during his outing.
“I just executed really well in the two at-bats against him,” Ohtani said.
Ohtani established himself as a superstar in his six seasons with the Angels, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2018 and his first two MVP awards. He has continued to succeed with the Dodgers, and is well on his way to a fourth MVP award after winning his third in 2024.
The Angels took a series sweep over Ohtani’s Dodgers for the second time this season on Wednesday, which propelled them above both the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card race. The Angels are now five games back of the New York Yankees, who have rapidly fallen down the AL East and now occupy the final Wild Card spot.
The Halos will take on the Athletics in their next series, which presents a golden opportunity to continue climbing in the standings as they have already beaten the A’s in all seven of their matchups this season.
After an off day on Thursday, Yusei Kikuchi will take the mound against the A’s in Sacramento on Friday at 7:05 p.m. PT.
