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Shohei Ohtani homers twice, pitches Angels to victory over White Sox

June 28, 2023

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to the plate during the third inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech throws to the plate during the second inning of their game against the Angels on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani watches the flight of his solo home run during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels star Shohei Ohtani, left, celebrates with first base coach Damon Mashore as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani checks the ball during the second inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to the plate during the third inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani looks back at a pop fly hit by the Chicago White Sox’s Elvis Andrus during the third inning on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels star Shohei Ohtani reacts during his at-bat in the third inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to the plate during the fourth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox second baseman Elvis Andrus fields a ball hit by the Angels’ Brandon Drury during the fourth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Angels’ Luis Rengifo celebrates in the dugout after scoring a run during the fourth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani drops his bat as he heads to first base after hitting a single during the fifth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech throws to the plate during the fifth inning of their game against the Angels on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson throws to first base to complete a double play after forcing out the Angels’ Brandon Drury at second during the fifth inning on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani reacts after a pitch during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to the plate during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani gestures after walking the Chicago White Sox’s Yasmani Grandal Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to the plate during the seventh inning on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani, second from right, gets a pat on the back from catcher Chad Wallach, left, as he is removed during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani walks off the mound and after being removed from the game as a pitcher during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Chicago White Sox’s Gavin Sheets hits a single to score Clint Frazier during the seventh inning of their game against the Angels on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Chicago White Sox’s Clint Frazier runs home while scoring on a single by Gavin Sheets during the seventh inning of their game against the Angels on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels catcher Chad Wallach, left, shows his frustration after the Chicago White Sox’s Clint Frazier scored a run during the seventh inning on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels star Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run – his second of the game – during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. Ohtani also struck out 10 and allowed one run in 6-1/3 innings on the mound in a 4-2 win. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels star Shohei Ohtani watches the flight of his solo home run – his second of the game – during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. Ohtani also struck out 10 and allowed one run in 6-1/3 innings on the mound in a 4-2 win. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, right, watches the flight of his solo home run during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels star Shohei Ohtani gestures as he runs past the Chicago White Sox’s Jake Burger after hitting a solo home run – his second of the game – during the seventh inning on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. Ohtani also struck out 10 and allowed one run in 6-1/3 innings on the mound in a 4-2 win. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, center, celebrates as he scores after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani celebrates from the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez throws to the plate during the ninth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez throws to the plate during the ninth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez gestures after the final out of the ninth inning as the Angels defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-2, on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Angels first baseman Mike Moustakas, left, shakes hands with relief pitcher Carlos Estevez after their 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Angels star Shohei Ohtani, center, gets a handshake from Manager Phil Nevin after their 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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ANAHEIM — As Shohei Ohtani continues to defy description, Angels fans spelled it out rather simply with a chant as he circled the bases for the second time on Tuesday night.

“M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!”

The Angel Stadium crowd of 33,637 on Japanese Heritage Night roared its appreciation for Ohtani on a night when he pitched into the seventh inning and hit two home runs in the Angels’ 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

“The performance today was incredible,” Manager Phil Nevin said.

Ohtani increased his major league-leading home run total to 28 with a 418-foot shot to right field in the first inning and a 404-foot drive to left-center in the seventh.

The latter came moments after he left the mound with a cracked fingernail, ending his night charged with one earned run in 6⅓ innings while striking out 10. Ohtani said he doesn’t know which day he’s starting next, but he doesn’t expect the fingernail will be an issue.

As the Angels (44-37) reached the midpoint of the season, Ohtani is hitting .304 with a major league-leading OPS of 1.040. He’s also leading the majors with 64 RBIs. He is on pace for 56 homers.

On the mound, he is 7-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 95⅓ innings, with 127 strikeouts.

Asked if he’s at his peak both as a pitcher and a hitter right now, Ohtani said through his interpreter: “Hitting-wise, I feel like it’s up there for sure right now.”

When Ohtani was the unanimous MVP in 2021, he hit 46 homers with a .965 OPS, and he had a 3.18 ERA. He heard the same “M-V-P” chants back then as he heard on Tuesday.

“It’s always a good feeling to hear that,” Ohtani said. “It gives me a lot of motivation to do better.”

Already voted to start the All-Star Game as the DH, Ohtani is putting the finishing touches on one of the best all-around months of his career.

He’s batting .383 with a 1.388 OPS this month, including 13 homers, all in his last 20 games.

“We’re seeing things every day that we’ve never seen before and you try not to take it for granted and I don’t think any of us do,” Nevin said. “I understand how special it is. But I also understand how special the person is to our room and what he’s bringing to us every day as well as the rest of his teammates.”

While Ohtani has been a productive hitter for the entire season, his pitching was not up to his normal level during a surprising slump in May. He’s reversed that trend over his last three starts, allowing four earned runs in 19⅓ innings, a 1.86 ERA. He struck out 31 and walked five.

One of the recent differences in his pitching is the way he’s mixed his pitches.

Ohtani again threw more fastballs (34) than sweepers (24) among his 102 pitches, continuing a trend over the span of his turnaround over the last three starts.

He’s thrown his fastball 43.3% of the time over his last three starts, after throwing it 27.0% of the time in his first 13 starts. He’s cut the sweeper from 40.1% to 21.1%.

“I think he’s done some things mechanically pitching-wise, that have helped him a little bit, whether it’s pitch-mixing and game-planning,” Nevin said. “I think that’s been a lot better, if you will.”

Ohtani put the Angels ahead in the first and then he cruised through the White Sox lineup without much trouble through the first six innings. He gave up a leadoff double in the second, but he stranded the runner at third when he struck out Yasmani Grandal and Jake Burger.

The Angels weren’t giving him much margin for error, adding just a single run on a David Fletcher groundout in the fourth.

They had a precarious 2-1 lead when Ohtani came to bat in the bottom of the seventh.

He then blasted his second homer, the first time in his career that he’s hit multiple homers in a game he pitched. The Angels added an insurance run on an RBI single from Mike Moustakas, playing his second game with the Angels.

Relievers Jacob Webb, Chris Devenski and Carlos Estévez handled the final eight outs after Ohtani was done.

Estévez gave up a run in the ninth, but he escaped a bases-loaded jam to set an Angels record by converting his 20th straight save opportunity to start the season.

By avoiding a ninth-inning disaster, Estévez was able to protect the victory and preserve Ohtani’s magical night.

“Every game somehow seems to get even crazier, watching him play,” catcher Chad Wallach said. “Watch him pitch like that and then go hit two homers. Somehow it still surprises you every time.”

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Shohei Ohtani’s night:
2 HR as a batter
10 Ks as a pitcher. pic.twitter.com/Bzm0Q3qvKF

— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2023