The month of May hasn’t been great for Shohei Ohtani, but he’s ending it on a high note.
Ohtani hasn’t exactly struggled this month, but his stats aren’t quite up to the high standard he’s set for himself both on the mound and at the plate. In 26 games this month, he’s batting .230/.319/.470, not terrible but a significant drop-off from the .294/.355/.541 slash line he put up in the first month of the season. And after a lights-out first month on the mound in which he posted a 1.85 ERA, Ohtani’s ERA in May is 4.05, and he’s allowed more than twice as many hits this month despite pitching three fewer innings than he did in March and April.
But he’s still more than capable of doing really cool things on the baseball field. In Tuesday night’s game against the White Sox, Ohtani turned on a high inside fastball from Chicago starter Lucas Giolito and crushed it for a home run deep to dead center field. It was his 13th homer of the season, putting him in a five-way tie for the ninth most in the majors.
Right at the top of the zone but Shohei Ohtani hits it 435 feet anyway!pic.twitter.com/OHgrCVMKH2
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 31, 2023
That isn’t easy to do on a pitch thrown up around your armpits on the inside half of the plate, but Ohtani isn’t an MVP-caliber player because he does things that are easy. Fans were rightly impressed with his incredible display of power.
The little trot after he pumped that to dead centre. What an absolute bomb. https://t.co/lR9wDuoPxl
— Mac Miller Forever (@SassySaslove) May 31, 2023
JESUS MAN https://t.co/srE7EKXE4J
— Grizz Kurenai #YOTSR💀💚 (@GrizzlyFOG) May 31, 2023
Sho is God😎💕 https://t.co/RvQ5oY4hJH
— ろま さが子 (@roma_sagako) May 31, 2023
@NikiMSavo, so, we're trying to see if there's still a cover on the ball after he destroyed that. https://t.co/7VUcqZjOxD
— Michael Howard (@dirkjently) May 31, 2023
Unfortunately for the Angels, Ohtani’s home run and Mike Trout’s diving catch in center weren’t enough to come away with the victory. The White Sox won, 7–3.
