An epic showdown with Mike Trout brought out the very best in Shohei Ohtani.
When Ohtani struck out Trout to end the WBC championship game, he threw the best breaking ball of his major league career.
Japan led USA 3-2 with two outs in the ninth inning when, on a full count, Ohtani threw Trout his sweeper—his favorite pitch, essentially a slider with a bigger break. Ohtani threw his sweeper last season 37% of the time, more than any other pitch, at an average speed of 86.5 mph and with an average spin rate of 2,492 rpm. The sweeper that Trout whiffed on was clocked at 87.2 mph with a spin rate of 2,708 rpm.
