The Los Angeles Angels shook off a blowout loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday with a 10-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday. At the backend of that game, Shohei Ohtani was punched out by first baseman, Kody Clemens, who came in to pitch for the ninth inning.
Clemens is the son of an all-time great starting pitcher, Roger Clemens, and even dad would’ve been proud of the two-strike pitch that sent Ohtani to the dugout for his first career strikeout. Ohtani acknowledged Kody Clemens dropped a perfect pitch on the outer half, and let out a smile following strike three.
In a gesture of good fun, Ohtani sent a gift of an autographed baseball, the same ball used to sit down the reigning 2021 MVP.
Around MLB, a lot more position players are pitching in blowout games to preserve arms and it does make for some fun moments and interesting television. It just so happens that Kody channeled a bit of his dad’s pitching prowess and struck out one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball.
Mike Trout & Ohtani combine for three homers
Trout went 3-for-4, finishing a triple shy of the cycle with a home run, a double, and three runs scored. Ohtani went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs, and three runs scored. In what can only be described as a dominant effort, the two combined for six of the Halos’ 10 runs and six of their 16 hits.
By the end of it all, the Angels had won 10-0, with the heart of the order leading the way.
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