It began with a stare and ended with a slide.
What was supposed to be Shohei Ohtani’s first day off of the season instead gave way to his latest dramatic moment, the two-way star getting hit by a pitch and later scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of the Angels’ 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night.
After Ohtani’s first two-way major league game Sunday night — in which he hit a home run and was involved in a scary-looking home plate collision — manager Joe Maddon wanted to give his star a rest.