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| 7:07 PM PT8:07 PM MT9:07 PM CT10:07 PM ET22:07 ET2:07 GMT10:07 7:07 PM MST9:07 PM EST9:37 PM VEN6:07 UAE (+1)8:07 PM CT, March 30, 2023 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California Attendance: 26,805 |
All eyes on Shohei Ohtani as Angels face A's in opener
Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics
- The Angels went 12-7 against the Athletics last year, their best single-season record versus any AL West opponent over the previous four seasons. Los Angeles pitchers posted a 2.13 ERA over those 19 games in 2022, the best mark for any AL club against a division foe.
- LA went 73-89 last year, extending its streak of losing seasons to seven, the longest active streak in MLB and tying for the longest in team history (1971-77). The Angels are 1-8 in their season-opening games since 2014 and have lost 10 of their last 14 season-opening series.
- Mike Trout's 40 home runs ranked second in the AL last year (Aaron Judge -- 62) and gave him 350 in his 12-year career to go along with his 1.002 career OPS. He is the fourth player all-time with 350+ HR and a 1.000+ OPS through 12 seasons, joining Mickey Mantle, Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols.
- The A's went 60-102 last year, posting their second 100-loss season since moving to Oakland in 1968 (108 in 1979). Their MLB-worst .216 batting average was the third worst by any club in the live-ball era, besting only the 2020 Reds (.212) and the 1968 Yankees (.214).
- Seth Brown hit 15 home runs and walked 32 times after the All-Star break last season. The only other American League player with at least 15 homers and 30 walks over the same timeframe was Aaron Judge.
- Shohei Ohtani his 34 home runs in 2022 while also recording 15 wins as a pitcher, becoming the first player ever with 30+ HR and 15+ wins in a single season. The only other player to record at least 10 of each in the same season was Babe Ruth in 1918 (11 HR, 13 W).
Shohei Ohtani returns to the site of his Major League Baseball debut as both a power hitter and a starting pitcher, when the Los Angeles Angels visit the Oakland Athletics to open the 2023 regular season Thursday night.
The matchup features Ohtani, Mike Trout and a mostly familiar Angels looking to end an eight-year postseason drought against another new A's edition seeking to lay the foundation for future success.
The right-handed Ohtani (15-9, 2.33 ERA in 2022) is scheduled to make his second consecutive Opening Day start. He was the loser last year at home against the Houston Astros despite allowing just one run in 4 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts. The Astros won the game 3-1.
Looking to erase memories of last year's 73-89 season, the Angels lined up their Opening Day plans early by announcing Ohtani as the starter not long after spring training started. Ohtani finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award balloting last season.
The 28-year-old, who can become a free agent at the completion of his current one-year, $30 million deal, went just 2-2 despite a 1.09 ERA in four starts against Oakland last year. He held the A's to just 14 hits with 28 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings.
He is 4-4 in 10 lifetime starts against Oakland, including his first MLB start in his fourth career game at Oakland in April in 2018, when he got the win with six innings of three-hit ball. He was the team's designated hitter in the 2018 season opener at Oakland, recording a hit in five at-bats in his first MLB action.
Ohtani, one of the heroes of Japan's championship run in the recently completed World Baseball Classic, hopes his personal momentum carries over into the Angels' season.
"When I saw the faces of my teammates for the first time in a while, I felt like I want to win a title with this team, too," Ohtani said through an interpreter.
Ohtani is expected to be backed in the field Thursday by at least two newcomers -- shortstop Gio Urshela and first baseman Brandon Drury. Regular first baseman Jared Walsh will open the season on the injured list after experiencing headaches and insomnia.
Urshela, who played with the Minnesota Twins last year after three years with the New York Yankees, won the Opening Day nod at shortstop after hitting .382 in the spring with a .417 on-base percentage. Drury had two homers among his 12 spring hits.
The A's selected left-hander Kyle Muller as their Opening Day starter.
Acquired as part of the package when Oakland dealt catcher Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves in December, Muller (1-1, 8.03 ERA in 2022) has never faced the Angels in his two seasons. In fact, he's gone head-to-head with just two AL teams -- the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers.
The decision to start Muller meant avoiding a potential matchup of Ohtani and countryman Shintaro Fujinami, who will pitch only on Saturdays to begin his MLB career.
James Kaprielian, another member of the Oakland starting staff, was excited to see an improved A's offense in the spring, one that teed off on the rival San Francisco Giants for 12 runs in the exhibition finale Monday.
"Guys are hammering the ball," Kaprielian said. "When you're sitting on the bench and you just hear a crack of the bat, I mean, it's exciting. Anytime you have an explosive offense, it does take a little bit of pressure off the staff and the bullpen."
--Field Level Media
Updated March 30, 2023
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