Shohei Ohtani hopped off the mound and strode confidently toward the dugout after his fourth-inning strikeout of Isiah Kiner-Falefa on Tuesday night, the Angels right-hander having applied the finishing touches on an erratic but scoreless start that seemed to raise as much concern as hope.
The blister on the middle finger of Ohtani’s pitching hand that relegated the two-way star to hitting for two weeks did not appear to be an issue, at least physically. Ohtani threw 80 pitches, five more than his soft 75-pitch limit, giving up one hit, striking out seven and walking six in a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers.