On May 18, 2021, a Twitter account called @matttomic made the following post: “Every time I see an Angels highlight, it’s like “Mike Trout hit three home runs and raised his average to .528, while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn’t been done since ‘Tungsten Arm’ O’Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, when the Tigers beat the Angels 8-3”.
That phrase has aged well, as that’s what happened again when Ohtani’s master class was overshadowed by the Mariners’ grand slam in the 9th inning.
The Los Angeles Angels suffered a critical 5-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night, but for a while it looked like superstar Shohei Ohtani would be the story.
Ohtani was the Angels’ starting pitcher but was forced out of the game after four scoreless innings due to hand cramps. Ohtani managed to stay in the game as DH and in the eighth inning, increased the Halos’ lead to 3-1 with his MLB-leading 40th home run of the season.
That one left the bat at 106.7 mph and traveled 390 feet. That blast earned Ohtani the second 40-home run season of his career, and that’s the latest run in history by the pending free agent.
At the plate on the night, Ohtani went 2-for-2 with two walks, which raised his 2023 OPS to an MLB-leading 1.098. Unfortunately for the Angels and fortunately for the Mariners, the story doesn’t end there. In the top of the ninth, the Mariners managed to load the bases with one out against Carlos Estévez. That brought 26-year-old rookie Cade Marlowe to the plate with his team trailing by two runs.
As for Marlowe, he’s now batting .333, .429 and .667 through the first 12 games of his major league career, and the hot start has played a pivotal role in the Mariners’ recent improved fortunes. As for the Angels, their story remains the same all too often – the rest detracts from Ohtani’s luster.
After Tuesday night’s decisive result, the Mariners, despite a soft-sell approach at the trade deadline, are 57-52 and just two and a half games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the AL. Three AL East teams – the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Yankees – are ahead of them in line. The Angels are now 56-54 and four games out of the final wild-card spot. They have not reached the postseason since 2014.
