LOS ANGELES -- The top two candidates for the American League Most Valuable Player Award will be front and center on Tuesday, as two-way star Shohei Ohtani and Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will meet in a twin bill. You can watch the game live for free on MLB.TV.

Ohtani has been making history this season, as he's batting .269/.362/.653 with a Major League-leading 37 homers in 106 games as a hitter, while also making 16 starts on the mound and going 6-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 86 innings. And Guerrero hit his 35th homer Sunday and leads the league in on-base percentage and RBIs.

• Stream FREE at 6 p.m. ET: Ohtani vs. Vlad Jr.

Angels manager Joe Maddon believes Ohtani is the front-runner for the award, even though the Angels are currently in fourth place in the AL West and are on the periphery of the Wild Card chase. Toronto is also in fourth in the AL East but entered Monday five games ahead of the Angels.

“There’s precedent with A-Rod winning the MVP while in last place,” Maddon said, alluding to Alex Rodriguez in 2003 with the Rangers. “It’s going to come down to semantics and bias. But this guy is doing things that have never been done. He’s been incredible offensively and pitching. How could you walk away from that? He’s been the most valuable player in baseball.”

Ohtani was relegated to pinch-hitting duty last weekend against the Dodgers with National League rules in place. But he’s expected to return to the lineup as the designated hitter Tuesday, when the Angels host a doubleheader against the Blue Jays.

Ohtani had a big at-bat Saturday night, as he came in to pinch-hit in a tie game with two runners on and two outs in the eighth against reliever Brusdar Graterol. Maddon wasn’t sure if the Dodgers would pitch to Ohtani but they did and Graterol ultimately struck out Ohtani with a 102 mph fastball in an eventual 5-3 loss for the Angels.

“There was a base open and I wasn’t sure what they were going to do,” Maddon said. “But we took our shot right there. Graterol had been throwing really good, so they went with him. Shohei hits fastballs as well as anybody. There was one call that put him in a bad count and that makes a difference. But I’ve walked Miguel Cabrera on three consecutive nights with two outs and runners on first and second.”

Ohtani walked in his sole plate appearance in the eighth inning Sunday as the Angels dropped the final game of the series to the Dodgers, 8-2. Thursday will mark his first career start against Guerrero and the Blue Jays.