ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Boston manager Alex Cora remembers marveling at Shohei Ohtani’s raw pitching talent when the Red Sox visited Anaheim in 2018. He also recalls the Red Sox chased the Angels rookie after just two innings.
Ohtani’s pitches are still incredible three years later, but Cora saw them coming from a fully formed big-league starter Tuesday night.
“Yeah, he threw hard, all that, but he pitched today,” Cora said. “You see him out there now, and he knows what he’s doing. It’s amazing what he’s doing. Unreal.”
That’s foreboding for the rest of baseball, and it was bad news for the AL-leading Red Sox.