One day after saying he felt “really heavy and sluggish,” Shohei Ohtani was not in the lineup for the Angels on Thursday afternoon for the first game of a doubleheader against Minnesota.
Manager Joe Maddon said he anticipated starting Ohtani at designated hitter in the second game.
Ohtani pitched 4 2/3 innings and batted three times Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to Cleveland. The velocity of his pitches was noticeably down, leading to postgame questions about Ohtani’s health.
Ohtani and Maddon both said the two-way star was fine physically and attributed the lower radar-gun readings to fatigue.