Shohei Ohtani leaves Angels recreation with blister, says he doesn’t plan to pitch in All-Star Game

SAN DIEGO — It seems Major League Baseball simply misplaced one among its largest sights on the All-Star Game: Shohei Ohtani on the mound.

Ohtani stated he doesn’t anticipate to pitch in subsequent week’s showcase after leaving the Los Angeles Angels’ 8-5 loss to the San Diego Padres with a blister on the center finger of his proper hand Tuesday.

“It’s going to be pretty tough. As of now I’m planning on not pitching,” Ohtani stated by an interpreter.

The two-way celebrity might nonetheless play a big function if he’s wholesome sufficient to stay the beginning designated hitter for the American League subsequent Tuesday in Seattle.

Ohtani exited on the mound towards the Padres within the sixth inning. When his spot within the lineup at DH got here up within the ninth, he was changed by a pinch-hitter.

“When I came out of the game I was kind of in the moment, so we will see about going forward the next few days,” Ohtani stated. “On the pitching side, I have like nine, 10 days until the next start so hopefully I will heal in time.”

Ohtani was pulled after giving up consecutive house runs to Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth with none out within the sixth.

The right-hander’s begin had been pushed again a day because of a cracked fingernail. His velocity was down Tuesday, and he left trailing 5-1.

“It was hard for me to put full pressure on it,” Ohtani stated.

He left his earlier begin as a pitcher however remained within the recreation because the DH and homered, giving him 10 strikeouts and two house runs in a 4-2 win towards the Chicago White Sox.

“It’s my understanding they put an acrylic nail on there because of where it was cracked and it might have just irritated the skin on the side of the finger,” Angels supervisor Phil Nevin stated. “It felt like he just didn’t have command of his pitches going into the sixth and we talked about it and he felt good and warmed up and he gave me a thumbs up.”

Asked if the blister would hamper Ohtani’s capacity to bat, Nevin stated: “I don’t think so. It’s just the tip of the middle finger and I think he’s going to be OK.”

Ohtani’s exit got here a number of hours after the Angels discovered they’ll be with out fellow All-Star slugger Mike Trout for a number of weeks due to a damaged left wrist.