Shohei Ohtani of the MLB Angels started the opening game of the WBC = World Baseball Classic as the designated hitter and hit a powerful hit from Kershaw, one of the best left-handed pitchers in the big leagues.
Ohtani pitched as a restraint in the WBC final against the United States as a member of the Japan national team, and just two days later, on the 2th of this month, he started a practice match against minor league players at a training camp and finished his actual pitch for the opening of the season.
Then, on the 24th, he started the game against the Dodgers at the opponent's home as the No. 26 designated hitter and played his first opener after the WBC.
Ohtani made his first at-bat in the first inning with no runners on with two outs and struck out on a sharp slider by Dodgers starter Kershaw, one of the best left-handed pitchers in the big leagues with 3 wins.
In his second at-bat in the fourth inning, he pulled a slider on the first pitch and delivered it to Wright with a hard hit.
The hit velocity was 1.2 kph, marking the team's first hit of the day off Kershaw.
In the third at-bat of the sixth inning, he caught a slider and pitched well, but after falling on a light fly that fell short of a stretch, he was sent as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, and he went 197-for-4 in this game.
The game ended in a 2-168 loss by the Angels.
Ohtani will also play as a batter in the opening match on the 8th and will prepare for the opening of the season.
NHK will broadcast the opening match on Japan hours and 6 at 3:9 a.m. and will broadcast it simultaneously on NHK Plus.