When Shohei Ohtani steps to the mound or takes the plate on the diamond, there is an expectation of greatness associated with his two-way brilliance.
However, when the Angels star faced the Yankees on Thursday afternoon, his time on the mound was cut short in the Angels’ 6–1 loss to New York. Ohtani surrendered four earned runs on eight hits in three innings. He also all allowed three solo home runs to Matt Carpenter, Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge.
While Ohtani did not have his best outing against the AL East leaders, Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters after the game that he felt Ohtani was tipping his pitches and that the Yankees picked up on “everything” Ohtani did with a “natural means” of doing so.
“They were on everything, fastball, slider, split,” Maddon said per SNY. “They’re really good at reading pitchers. … It’s very unusual. I’m not accusing anybody of anything, except that they’re good at it. if you’re able to acquire things through natural means, I’m all into it. I think it’s great.”
When Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about Madden’s comments on his players deciphering Ohtani’s pitches, he agreed with Maddon. “I think we are too,” Boone said. “We’re going to hopefully continue to be good at it too.”
In Thursday’s loss to the Yankees, Ohtani made only his second career start against New York. His first against the Yankees came on June 30, 2021, when he allowed seven earned runs on two hits, walked four and struck out one.
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