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Ohtani's velocity dip in return not elbow-related

HOUSTON -- Shohei Ohtani experienced yet another health scare in his long-awaited pitching comeback on Sunday night, but the Angels believe the issue is unrelated to the sprained elbow ligament that kept him off the mound for nearly three months.

Ohtani opened his outing against the Astros with two scoreless innings, but he showed a notable dip in velocity in the third, with his fastball dropping from 96-97 mph to 91-92. He subsequently surrendered a two-run home run to George Springer and departed after throwing 49 pitches over 2 1/3 innings in the Angels' 4-2 loss at Minute Maid Park.