Angels’ Shohei Ohtani has split his splitter into two pitches

14.06.2023 03:07

DailyNews.com

ARLINGTON, Texas — The pitch that was once Shohei Ohtani’s signature has seemingly vanished from his repertoire.

The devastating splitter that Ohtani rode to so many strikeouts when he debuted in the major leagues back in 2018 might not be quite as rare as it seems, though.

Ohtani explained after a start earlier this month that some of his splitters are now being identified as two-seam fastballs. Catcher Chad Wallach said on Tuesday that’s because now Ohtani has divided his splitter into two pitches.

“He’s got a normal one that goes straight down and one that he calls a running splitter,” said Wallach, who has caught eight of Ohtani’s last nine starts. “I’m guessing that’s the one that reads as a two-seamer.”

Wallach said the two pitches are both around 90 mph, so the only way to distinguish between them is the direction of the break.

According to MLB’s pitch tracking software, Ohtani has thrown his splitter 7.3% of the time, which would be the lowest of his career. Based on the parameters Wallach described, it’s likely he’s still throwing it around 10-11% of the time, but some of them are called two-seamers.

Ohtani, who is scheduled to start on Thursday night in Texas, now throws seven different pitches that just about cover the whole spectrum of movement directions.

Ohtani’s four-seam fastball is relatively straight. His cutter goes to the glove side, and his sweeper goes down and to the glove side. His splitter and his curveball both break straight down. His running splitter goes down and to the arm side, and the two-seamer has more of a straight horizontal break to the arm side.

“It’s nice to have a lot of options,” Wallach said.

The sweeper has been scrutinized this year because he’s already allowed seven homers on the pitch, which is one more than he allowed all of last season. Ohtani has thrown the pitch 40.1% of the time.

What’s more, all seven of those homers have come with at least one runner on base, meaning those seven pitches alone account for much of the difference between last year’s 2.33 ERA and this year’s 3.32 mark. (Ohtani’s other issue is that his walks are up from 2.4 to 4.0 per nine innings.)

Wallach said Ohtani is “tinkering” with the sweeper to get it back to where it was last season.

“It’s still a great pitch,” Wallach said. “I’m not there in the bullpens when they are working on it, but I’m sure they’re getting it worked on down there. I’m sure it will be just fine.”

DRURY SUSPENDED

Brandon Drury was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount after he made contact with plate umpire Ramon De Jesus while he was arguing a called third strike during the 10th inning on Monday.

Drury appealed the decision, allowing him to continue playing, but he acknowledged on Tuesday that he did touch De Jesus.

“Obviously I wasn’t trying to do that,” Drury said. “It’s a big at-bat, key situation in the game. I thought the ball was pretty well off (the plate). Yeah, I made a mistake. I accidentally bumped into him.”

Drury was up with one out and a runner at third, and the pitch appeared to be inside.

“Umpires are human too,” Drury said. “We all understand that. It’s not a personal thing. It’s just as a player, hitting is really hard. These pitchers are really good. There are pitches that are off (the plate). Like I said, it’s nothing personal to the umpire. It’s just as a player when you’re competing trying to win the game and a ball is a ball. It’s very frustrating as the player, but that’s part of the game.”

Considering that Drury admitted he touched the umpire, it’s unlikely his appeal will eliminate the suspension. The Angels might be waiting until Thursday – when they are set to face a right-handed pitcher – to drop the appeal and serve the suspension.

NOTES

Outfielder Taylor Ward had to finish the game at first base after Drury was ejected, and he saved the game with a pick of a throw in the dirt. Given the fact that Ward and Mickey Moniak are now both playing well enough to get regular playing time in the outfield, Manager Phil Nevin was asked on Tuesday if Ward could get a look at first base. “No,” Nevin said. “Taylor’s an outfielder. He feels comfortable in the outfield. I think we’ve got four really good outfielders who could all be starting for somebody. It’s a good luxury to have.” …

Outfielder Mike Trout got the day off on Tuesday. Nevin said he wanted Trout to be off for one of the four games on the artificial turf in Texas. Nevin preferred to give him a day off against a righty – because Moniak traditionally doesn’t hit lefties well – but the Rangers spoiled those plans when right-hander John Gray was scratched from Tuesday’s start. Lefties Cody Bradford and Andrew Heaney were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. …

Infielder Gio Urshela continues to be bothered by a stiff back, although Nevin said it’s not serious enough for him to go on the injured list. The Angels tried to give him a full day off on Monday, but he had to play in extra innings, and he felt something on a swing, Nevin said. “He said he can go but I’d like to be cautious with him,” Nevin said. “I think he’s going to be OK. He had this before where it took a day or two, and we haven’t been able to give him that day or two yet.”