Red Sox at Angels
Mother Nature has forced Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani into his biggest challenge as Los Angeles hosts the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series involving division leaders. Ohtani, who has sparkled in two trips to the mound and in 33 at-bats as a designated hitter (.367, three home runs, 11 RBIs), was supposed to take the ball Sunday but the game in Kansas City was postponed.
Ohtani has served as the DH in seven games as Los Angeles (13-3) is not using him on the day before and after he pitches, with manager Mike Scioscia telling reporters about his 23-year-old Japanese phenom: "He always says he's ready, but right now we're definitely going to protect him as much as we can. ..." Boston (13-2) is off to the best start in club history with its starting pitchers posting a major league-best 2.06 ERA. The Red Sox are also hitting .275 - the second-highest average in the majors to the Angels (.291), scoring 62 runs in the seven games prior to Sunday's 3-1 victory over Baltimore. Ohtani opposes David Price, who didn't allow a run in his first two outings of the season before running into trouble in his third.
TV: 10:07 p.m. ET, MLB Network; NESN (Boston), FS West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH David Price (1-1, 2.40 ERA) vs. Angels RH Shohei Ohtani (2-0, 2.08)
Price left Wednesday's 10-7 loss to the New York Yankees after allowing four runs in one inning, telling reporters that he lost feeling in his fingertips on a cold night in Boston. The 32-year-old Tennessee native, who made only 16 appearances during an injury-plagued 2017, yielded seven hits with 10 strikeouts over 14 innings in his previous two outings. Albert Pujols is 9-for-28 with two home runs and four RBIs versus Price, who is 5-7 with a 3.53 ERA in 15 starts versus Los Angeles.
Ohtani, who is 6-3 and 190 pounds, carried a perfect game into the seventh inning against Oakland in his last outing April 8, permitting one hit and striking out 12 in seven scoreless innings of the Angels' 6-1 victory. He also defeated the Athletics in his first major league start, allowing three runs and three hits in six frames. “Yeah, it’s impressive,” Red Sox ace Chris Sale said of Ohtani. “I know how hard it is to get out there every fifth day just pitching. ... He throws 100 miles per hour and can take you deep at the same time. If you don’t respect that, I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing.”
WALK-OFFS
1. Los Angeles CF Mike Trout, who is 3-for-21 with 10 strikeouts against Price, shares the American League lead in home runs (six) with one coming in every other game over the last seven contests.
2. Boston RF Mookie Betts (.353, two home runs, 10 RBIs) is expected back in the lineup after missing Sunday's game with a foot contusion that he suffered Saturday.
3. The Angels have the best run differential in baseball at plus-48 with the Red Sox second at plus-42.