Japanese rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani went hitless in three at-bats as the Los Angeles Angels were defeated 2-1 by the New York Yankees on Friday.

The 23-year-old Ohtani, batting fifth in the lineup as a designated hitter, was struck out by Luis Severino in his first at-bat in the second inning at Yankee Stadium.

Ohtani walked in the fourth before grounding out in his other two at-bats in the sixth and eighth. Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney allowed just one run in 6-1/3 innings and Mike Trout homered, but it was not enough to take down the Yankees.

Ohtani hit his fourth home run in the majors off Severino when the Angels played the Yankees at home on April 27, but the right-hander managed to hold off the two-way star on Friday.

"We lost today, but there's still tomorrow and the day after, so I want to be able to win at such a great stadium," Ohtani said. "(Yankee Stadium) is a wonderful stadium, and any baseball player would hope to play here."

Gleyber Torres secured victory for the Yankees, the rookie homering off veteran Jim Johnson to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh, becoming the youngest player in American League history to homer in four consecutive games in the process.


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