Ohtani vs. Vlad Jr.? SoCal star earns spotlight

ANAHEIM -- In a highly anticipated matchup of American League MVP candidates, Angels star Shohei Ohtani displayed what might set him apart from Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by season’s end.

While also going 1-for-3 at the plate, Ohtani threw six innings and allowed two runs while striking out six in his start during the Angels’ 6-3 win over the Blue Jays at Angel Stadium. The two-way star held Guerrero to one hit, a walk and struck him out once across their three encounters.

“Really well,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said of how Ohtani fared in attacking Guerrero. “He pitched everybody pretty much really well. Young Vladdy -- don't forget how young he is either -- the guy's having a killer year. ... I thought it was a really cool matchup."

The first encounter between the two was a quick battle that Guerrero won after singling on a first-pitch cutter thrown by Ohtani.

Three innings later, the two met again. After Ohtani gave up a leadoff walk to Marcus Semien, the two-way star struck out Guerrero swinging on a slider on the outer half of the plate.

Ohtani did however give up his only two runs of the night after striking out the 22-year-old. The Blue Jays scored their first two runs after Teoscar Hernández drove in Semien in the next at-bat and Randal Grichuk doubled Hernández home with two outs in the inning.

The Japanese star settled back down in the fifth inning as he collected two strikeouts and set down the side in order before his final inning of work. With his 99th and final pitch of the night in the sixth, Ohtani struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a slider to leave Guerrero on base after he drew a walk with one out.

“I had a lot of fun facing [Guerrero],” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “And not just him, but the whole lineup is really, really good, and especially the middle of the order. They got top-notch hitters, so I had a lot of fun facing those guys.”

Ohtani, who walked three batters in the start, earned his third straight win, making it the first time in his career he has earned the winning decision in three consecutive outings.

The two-way star said he has felt more under control with his repertoire over his last few starts.

“I just feel like overall, I have better command on all my pitches even though I gave up those three walks today. But just overall, I feel better with every single pitch I have,” Ohtani said.

With the win, Ohtani improved to 5-0 in his first 10 starts at home in 2021. He sports a 1.92 ERA in 56 1/3 innings while pitching at the Big A and is the first Angels pitcher to go unbeaten with an ERA below 2.00 in his first 10 home starts of a season.

Maddon said Ohtani’s two-way capabilities assure him that he could take home AL MVP honors this season.

"We could talk about this and we can mention both things ... but it's overtly obvious to me," Maddon said. "I mean, you cannot argue against it. There's no argument against it. Vladdy's having a great year, and I really like the kid a lot, but what our guy is doing has never been done before. It's unprecedented. So for me, that's where it ends. And I'm sure a lot of other people probably feel the same way. But what Shohei is doing right now, it’s just different.”