Major leagues
Shohei Ohtani left the mound in the middle of an at-bat during the second inning Wednesday because of arm fatigue, the Los Angeles Angels said.
Ohtani had a 2-2 count on Cincinnati Reds third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand when the Angels’ training staff came out to check on him following a 94 mph fastball. Ohtani headed off the mound after a brief discussion, having thrown just 26 pitches in the first game of a doubleheader.
Ohtani didn’t speak to the media after the game because he was getting further evaluation, but manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani told him that his pitching arm “just didn’t feel right.”
“He told me he didn’t feel any pain,” Nevin said after the Angels’ 9-4 loss. “It was just more of the same thing he’s been feeling for the last couple of weeks.”
The two-way superstar and AL MVP front-runner skipped his previous turn in the rotation last week to rest his arm late in a long summer. Ohtani’s velocity was down across the board Wednesday while he faced the Reds’ first six batters, although he sometimes ramps up his pitching speeds gradually in the opening innings.
“In the second (inning, Ohtani’s velocity) was down,” Nevin said. “I was noticing the shapes on his pitches just weren’t the same, and I just saw a look after a pitch, so I decided to go out there and check on him.”
Ohtani hit his major league-leading 44th homer in the first inning, a two-run shot. He also left the game as the Angels’ designated hitter, with rookie Nolan Schanuel replacing him.
Chicago White Sox 6, Seattle 5: Designated runner Tim Anderson stole third and scored the winning run on a Seattle throwing error – all on a failed pickoff play – as the Chicago White Sox snapped the Mariners’ season-best eight-game winning streak with a 5-4, 10-inning victory.
National League
San Francisco 8, Philadelphia 6: Paul DeJong had a memorable first day with the Giants with a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the 10th in San Francisco’s 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
San Diego 4, Miami 0: Seth Lugo allowed three hits in six innings, Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer and the San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins, 4-0.
Padres reliever Robert Suarez was ejected for having sticky stuff on his left wrist and arm before he threw a pitch in the eighth inning.
Suarez denied using any illegal substances, saying he only had sunscreen on his arm because it was a day game.
Interleague
Milwaukee 8, Minnesota 7: Brice Turang beat out an infield hit with two outs in the 10th inning to bring home Willy Adames with the winning run, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-7.
Adames also homered for the second straight day and singled home the tying run earlier in the 10th to help the NL Central-leading Brewers complete a two-game sweep and win their fifth straight. Milwaukee rallied from a three-run deficit.
Chicago Cubs 6, Detroit 4: Yan Gomes hit a tiebreaking, two-out single in the eighth inning and the playoff-contending Chicago Cubs beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4.
Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter hit a grand slam in the sixth inning off Jameson Taillon that tied the game at 4-all, but his teammates didn’t do much else at the plate.