Shohei Ohtani credited his good physical condition for a dominant mound performance that earned him his third win in the Los Angeles Angels' 2-0 victory Friday over the Kansas City Royals.
The two-way superstar struck out 11, including the last six batters he faced in seven innings of two-hit ball at Angel Stadium as he lowered his ERA to 0.64, having allowed two runs in 28 innings so far in 2023.
This season Ohtani has struck out 38 and walked 15, while his .092 batting average allowed leads MLB.
"The biggest factor, rather than this or that about my pitching, is being in good physical condition," Ohtani said. "I've walked and hit a lot of batters this season, but on the bright side, batters are not hitting for average against me."
Ohtani (3-0) was pitching on three days' rest after his previous start against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park lasted just two innings, when he did not return to the mound after a rain delay.
He also went 1-for-4 as the Angels' designated hitter, singling on a line drive to center in the bottom of the eighth.
Chad Wallach put the Angels on the board with his two-run homer in the third.
The Toronto Blue Jays' Yusei Kikuchi, who went to the same high school as Ohtani, Iwate Prefecture's Hanamaki Higashi, also logged his third win.
The southpaw went six innings in a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees. He allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out three. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Brandon Belt each hit a two-run home run to provide Kikuchi with the run support he needed to improve to 3-0.
Seiya Suzuki helped the Chicago Cubs pummel the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-0 at Wrigley Field, going 2-for-4 with a two-run double and a run scored.
Masataka Yoshida contributed to Boston's 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, going 1-for-4 with an RBI double at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
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