What can't Shohei Ohtani do?

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ANAHEIM -- Every time Shohei Ohtani takes the mound, he has the chance to do something extraordinary.

But it was his bat that almost made history when he pitched against the A’s on Thursday, as he fell just a few feet short of hitting a homer in the eighth inning to complete a cycle. He went 3-for-5 with a double and a triple and nearly became the first player since 1888 to hit for the cycle and pitch in the same game, as his drive to deep right-center was caught at the warning track 389 feet away.

It was yet another amazing performance for Ohtani, who also retired the first nine batters he faced before allowing five runs in the fourth. But he finished his outing strong by getting through six innings and was pleased with the way he felt both at the plate and on the mound.

“I actually felt the best I’ve felt all year at the plate,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “I gave up those five runs but still felt pretty good pitching-wise. Overall, it was a good day.”

He improved to 4-0 but saw his ERA rise from 0.64 to 1.85 in six starts this season. He struck out eight and walked two, giving him 46 strikeouts and 17 walks allowed in 34 innings this season.

He saw two impressive streaks come to a close but extended another one. He had allowed two runs or fewer in a franchise-record 12 straight starts but it ended on a three-run homer from Brent Rooker in the fourth. It also snapped Ohtani’s streak of 35 straight scoreless innings at home. He fell just shy of the club record of 36 ⅔ straight scoreless innings at Angel Stadium by Mark Clear in 1979. Rooker’s homer was also the first surrendered by Ohtani since Aug. 21, 2022, or 13 starts ago.

But Ohtani did give up just three hits and has allowed three hits or fewer in 10 straight starts, which is tied for the longest such streak dating back to when the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. It’s tied with Jacob deGrom’s 10-game streak in 2021.

And even after his rocky fourth inning, he’s still held opposing batters to a .102 batting average this year, which is the lowest in a pitcher’s first six starts of a season since at least 1916 (min 30 IP). He's hitting .278/.343/.531 with six homers, four doubles and 17 RBIs in 25 games this season. His .869 OPS is almost double his .445 OPS against.

So, while Ohtani couldn’t quite come through with the cycle on Thursday, manager Phil Nevin was still in awe after the game and said both a perfect game and a cycle were in play.

“It certainly was in everybody’s mind,” Nevin said. “I probably don’t have to look at baseball-reference to know no player has won a game and hit for the cycle in it.”