The Los Angeles Angels figured one seven-inning game was long enough to keep Shohei Ohtani out of the lineup. Ohtani was given the afternoon off for the Angeles 7-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins, but he will be back batting second for the second game of the double-header.
After failing to live up to the hype in his first few seasons, Ohtani’s emergence as a power-bat has been a revelation for the Halos. He ranks third on the team with an on-base plus slugging percentage of .950 while connecting for an MLB leading 14 round-trippers. Ohtani also leads the Angels in runs batted in (33) and stolen bases (six).