Shohei Ohtani continues to do it all for the Los Angeles Angels.
The MVP’s masterful pitching performance led the Angels to an 8-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, but he also sparked a fun moment in the batter’s box.
During the eighth inning, Ohtani hit an opposite-field single off Fenway Park’s famous Green Monster. The ball hit the scoreboard right as his No. 17 got removed.
It might have been coincidental timing. The dropped No. 17 was under the pitching column, and Ohtani had just pitched his final inning. The manual scorekeeper may have started switching it at the precise moment his hit ricocheted off the scoreboard.
This nevertheless gave fans yet another chance to marvel over Ohtani’s brilliance.
Ohtani collected another base hit, but he made a far bigger impact on the mound.
The 27-year-old only needed 99 pitches (81 strikes) to get through seven innings with 11 strikeouts and no walks. He now has a 3.08 ERA with 41 strikeouts through 26.1 innings, setting up the terrifying scenario of a reigning MVP getting better.
Thursday’s game was scoreless through six innings before the Angels broke it open with seven runs off Tanner Houck in the seventh and eighth frames. The AL West leaders improved to 17-10 behind another great all-around effort from Ohtani.