Blister ends Ohtani's day, and will keep him off All-Star mound

SAN DIEGO -- It was a Fourth of July to forget for the Angels.

It started with Mike Trout getting diagnosed with a left hamate fracture that will keep him out four to eight weeks. Then Anthony Rendon left the game in the fourth inning with a left shin bruise after fouling a ball off his left leg. And it got even worse in the sixth, as two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani left the Angels’ eventual 8-5 loss at Petco Park because of a right middle finger blister after giving up back-to-back homers in the sixth inning.

• Trout to miss 4-8 weeks with fractured bone in wrist

Rendon is likely to join Trout on the injured list, but the Angels are hopeful Ohtani will be fine to serve as designated hitter in the final three games before the All-Star break. Ohtani, who dealt with a cracked nail on his right middle finger in his last start, said he won’t be able to pitch in the All-Star Game on July 11 in Seattle but believes he’ll be ready to make the first start after the break against the Astros on July 15.

“We’re definitely in a tough spot with all the injuries,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “All the guys who are playing are trying to do their best. All we can try to do right now is try to win one ballgame at a time.”

Ohtani said his finger issue was similar to his last start. The Angels were hopeful that it wouldn’t be as much of an issue with an extra day of rest. They used an acrylic nail, but it became irritated as the game went on and he eventually lost command of his pitches.

“I think it's basically the same thing as last time,” Ohtani said. “It wasn't fully healed. It just kind of got worse as the game went on.”

Ohtani pitched with reduced velocity against the Padres. His fastball averaged 95.3 mph, which was down from his season average of 97.1 mph. It was especially apparent in a scoreless first inning that saw his fastball sitting at roughly 92 mph.

Ohtani, who was selected as an All-Star as both a designated hitter and a starting pitcher for a third straight season, gave up five runs on seven hits and four walks over five-plus innings with five strikeouts to see his ERA rise to 3.32 in 17 starts this season.

“It was hard for me to put full pressure because of the fingernail,” Ohtani said. “... Toward the end of the game, it started to slow down there.”

Ohtani was effective early despite the decreased velocity but gave up a two-run double to Jake Cronenworth in the fourth on a first-pitch 84 mph cutter over the middle of the plate. He escaped a jam with runners at first and third with nobody out in the fifth with the help of strikeouts of Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr.

In the sixth, it was clear Ohtani didn’t have it. He surrendered a single to Manny Machado on a first-pitch splitter before giving up a two-run homer to Xander Bogaerts on an 0-1 sweeper over the heart of the plate. Ohtani then served up a solo shot to Cronenworth on a 92.6 mph fastball, marking the first back-to-back homers he has allowed in the Majors.

“He just felt like he didn’t have command of his pitches going into the sixth,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “We talked before he went out, and he said he felt good. He warmed up and he gave me the thumbs up out there. But when you try to get on some balls, it probably feels a bit different and it affected some pitches there.”

After Ohtani’s first pitch to Gary Sánchez was grounded into the left-handed batter’s box, he was visited at the mound by Nevin and head athletic trainer Mike Frostad and left the game, having thrown 86 pitches.

Ohtani also didn’t bat in the ninth inning. Jo Adell served as a pinch-hitter and ripped an RBI triple as the Angels scored four runs to get back into the game. Nevin, though, said he brought in Adell to pinch-hit for Ohtani because the score was so lopsided at the time and not because Ohtani wasn’t able to hit.

“I just told him to go upstairs [to get treatment,] and at that point it was 7-1,” Nevin said. “And with a lefty on the mound, I was going to get Jo an at-bat. And he took a good swing and hit the ball good. So it wasn’t as much the finger as much as where the game was at the time.”