Angels at Athletics
Shohei Ohtani made his major-league debut as a hitter in the season opener but will get his first turn on the mound Sunday, when the Los Angeles Angels visit the Oakland Athletics for the finale of their four-game series. A highly touted prospect who is attempting to succeed as a two-way player, Ohtani served as Los Angeles' designated hitter on Thursday and singled in his first at-bat before finishing 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
The 23-year-old native of Japan hopes to turn in a strong pitching performance and help the Angels post their third straight win after rolling to an 8-3 victory on Saturday. Mike Trout was the star at the plate for Los Angeles, collecting three of the team's 12 hits - including two doubles - while driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice. Khris Davis matched Trout with a pair of two-base hits for Oakland, which has scored a total of four runs in its two losses after registering a 6-5 triumph on Opening Day. The 30-year-old Davis, who is coming off back-to-back 40-homer, 100-RBI seasons, is 4-for-10 with a blast and four RBIs over his first three games of 2018.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS West (Los Angeles), NBCS California (Oakland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Shohei Ohtani (ML Debut) vs. Athletics RH Daniel Gossett (2017: 4-11, 6.11 ERA)
Ohtani will be completing a feat that hasn't been accomplished in nearly a century, as he becomes the first person to start as a position player on Opening Day and then as a pitcher within his team's first 10 games since Babe Ruth in 1919 with Boston. "At this time, I am not that nervous," the phenom told Los Angeles' website through an interpreter prior to Saturday's contest. "But I'm not sure how I'll be feeling after (Saturday's) game." Ohtani is hoping to perform better than he did during spring training, where he yielded nine runs - eight earned - and nine hits (three homers) over 2 2/3 innings in two starts.
Gossett made 18 starts as a rookie last season but allowed fewer than three earned runs in only six of those outings. One of those occasions came in Los Angeles on Aug. 28, when the 25-year-old native of South Carolina limited the Angels to two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings of a loss. That was the only career meeting with Los Angeles for Gossett, who failed to last five frames in any of his final three turns last year.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Angels placed 2B Ian Kinsler (adductor) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled INF Nolan Fontana from Triple-A Salt Lake.
2. Oakland acquired Josh Lucas from St. Louis for fellow RHP Casey Meisner and optioned him to Triple-A Nashville.
3. Los Angeles signed OF Ben Revere to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Salt Lake.