Shohei Ohtani of the MLB Angels started a practice game held at a training camp in Arizona, throwing five innings, allowing one run and striking out eight to finish his final pitch for the start of the season.
In just two days since pitching as a restraint in the WBC = World Baseball Classic final against the United States, he threw 5 pitches and showed no signs of fatigue.

Ohtani started a practice game against the Diamondbacks' minor league players at a camp in Tempe, Arizona, on the 24th.

In the second inning, Ohtani was caught by a sweet changeup ball to the opposing left batter and hit a solo home run to Wright, but after that, he didn't allow a run while putting runners on base.

Ohtani threw five innings, allowing four hits, one run, one foreball, and striking out eight, the most in the camp at 2.

He took the mound just two days after the WBC final against the United States, but he showed no fatigue and finished his final pitch for the opening of the season.

Ohtani will not play in the opening game on the 5th, but will appear as the designated hitter in the three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on the 4th.

Then, on the 1th, pitcher Shintaro Fujinami is scheduled to appear simultaneously as the opening pitcher and designated hitter in the season opener against the Athletics.

Otani: "I want to win the championship with this team."

After the pitch, Ohtani explained the reason for his pitching, saying, "I had output at the time of the WBC, so I was almost done at that point, so I wanted to make sure that I could properly use the pitch clock as a reassurance factor rather than throwing the ball today."

"I'm throwing at a strong intensity in the WBC, so I still have a little bit of tension, but it's more of a dullness in my body due to the time difference due to movement than fatigue. and will proceed with adjustments with recovery as the top priority.

"He was huge, and I hope we can work together again someday," he said of the Cardinals' Nootvar, with whom he fought in the WBC, adding, "When I was eating, I asked, 'Where is it?' It seemed to want, so I gave it to him. It's a relatively new thing that I haven't used that much," he said with a smile.

Ahead of the season, he said, "I was very happy to have everyone say 'congratulations,' and seeing everyone's faces for the first time in a long time made me want to win the World Series with this team."