Shohei Ohtani back with Angels after WBC win, Ks 8 in minor league game

TEMPE, Ariz. — It was back to business as usual for Shohei Ohtani on Friday.

The two-way star returned to Los Angeles Angels camp after his MVP performance in the World Baseball Classic. Three days after striking out Mike Trout to clinch the WBC title for Japan against the United States in Miami, Ohtani was on the back fields in Tempe, pitching in a minor league game against some Arizona Diamondbacks farmhands.

Friday's outing was to keep Ohtani on schedule for his Opening Day start next Thursday in Oakland. He faced 19 batters, walking one and striking out eight. He allowed four hits, including a home run to Gavin Conticello, an eighth-round draft pick for Arizona in 2021.

One of the other two singles was by Druw Jones, the Diamondbacks' first-round pick last season and the son of 10-time Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones.

«The game today was to get up to my pitch count, get used to the pitch clock again and using the PitchCom,» Ohtani said through an interpreter after throwing 78 pitches. «All is well on my end.»

«I felt like with all the pitches and all the intensity of the Classic, I was already ready for Opening Day. Today was just fine-tuning stuff, getting used (to the new rules),» he said.

Ohtani only made one start for the Angels before leaving for Japan, for whom he pitched 9 2/3 innings with a 1.86 ERA in three WBC appearances. The last outing was Tuesday's ninth-inning appearance against the United States, where he fanned Trout on a full-count slider to set off a celebration.

The party was short-lived though, as Ohtani returned to his MLB team on Wednesday so he could begin preparing for the regular season — after which the 28-year-old will be a free agent. He was runner-up in the American League MVP