Was it worth it? Well, the answer is now, quite definitively, NO! This past Sunday night, the Angels put two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani back on the mound for the first time since June 6 after he had already been dealing with a “Grade 2” sprain in his right UCL. After 49 pitches across 2.1 innings and a dip in velocity, Ohtani was lifted from the game. He was expected to throw a light bullpen session Wednesday, but that never happened, as he complained of stiffness in his right arm and a subsequent MRI revealed “new damage”. The most recent recommendation is unsurprisingly Tommy John surgery.

It has yet to be announced exactly how Ohtani and the Angels will proceed, but he was in the three hole of the batting order in Texas on Wednesday and put up one of his best offensive performances of an already impressive season with the bat. In a 9-3 rout of the Rangers, Ohtani went 4-for-4 with two homers, three RBI, four runs scored and a steal.

 

In Case You Missed It

Andrelton Simmons also got in on the fun in Texas on Wednesday night. The slick-fielding shortstop went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and three total RBI. Simmons now has four multi-hit efforts over his last eight games and is sitting just one stolen base shy of his second straight season combining double-digit steals with double-digit homers.

Evan though the Braves bullpen, along with some defensive mishaps, would somehow a six-run lead in the eighth inning slip away during Wednesday afternoon’s bout with Boston, rookie slugger Ronald Acuna got the Atlanta offense jump started again in the first inning with his eighth leadoff homer of the year and 24th overall. Over the first five days of September, Acuna has gone 5-for-18 with two deep drives, a double, and four walks.

Speaking of that six-run comeback by the Red Sox, it also included a two-run go ahead bomb from none other than veteran Brandon Phillips in the top of the ninth inning. Freddie Freeman had seemingly bailed the Atlanta bullpen out with a pinch-hit solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to put his team up 8-7, but Phillips, who played 120 games for the Braves in 2017, stepped to the plate against A.J. Minter and put the finishing touches on an epic comeback for the Red Sox. What a way to make a statement for Phillips in his first big-league game in nearly a full calendar year.

 

Thursday on the Hill

It’s a very short slate on Thursday with just four games and all beginning after at 6:40 PM ET or later. Reds righty Luis Castillo is in line to make the first pitch of that earliest start time, looking to follow up on arguably his best start of the season. This past Saturday in St. Louis, Castillo worked 6.2 shutout innings, allowing only two hits and two walks while racking up a career-high 11 punchouts. He’ll face San Diego lefty Eric Lauer this time around.

In similar fashion, Stephen Strasburg will try to stay the course of his last couple of outings and continue working toward a strong finish to a season that has been fairly frustrating. Strasburg has turned in back-to-back quality starts versus the Phillies and Brewers respectively, surrendering a combined total of four earned runs on 10 hits and five walks while striking out 12 across 12.0 frames. Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs will be the opposition Thursday evening.

 

Streaking

Mitch Haniger – 17 games – 22-for-72, .995 OPS, 5 HR, 4 2B

Tommy Pham – 10 games – 18-for-43, 1.166 OPS, 2 HR, 2 3B

Franmil Reyes – 10 games – 12-for-30, 1.455 OPS, 6 HR

Jorge Alfaro – 9 games – 13-for-33, 1.035 OPS, 2 HR