Shohei Ohtani: Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah displeased with coach's decision to walk Angels phenom, says he wanted to go 'after him'
Shohei Ohtani's presence on the plate will always divide pitchers and managers. While the manager look to intentionally walk him, some pitchers want to face the challenge of pitching to the world's best.
That seemed to be the case for Ohtani's at-bat in the fifth innings of the second game of the series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Facing Alek Manoah and with a runner on base, Luis Rengifo, who doubled to the right previously, manager John Schneider decided to intentionally walk the Japanese sensation.
After the game, Alek Manoah claimed that he wasn't happy with his manager's decision to walk Ohtani. He felt he needed to square up against the once in a generation player and gain some confidence from his at-bat.
“I didn’t intentionally walk him. … the coach did. I’m sorry. I don’t know what he was thinking. Obviously, (Ohtani) is the best player in baseball right now. As a competitor, I want to come after him," Manoah said.
Manoah on intentionally walking Ohtani:
“I didn’t intentionally walk him…the coach did. I’m sorry. I don’t know what he was thinking. Obviously, [Ohtani] is the best player in baseball right now. As a competitor, I want to come after him."
(Manoah had a laugh while saying it).
Manoah walking Shohei Ohtani resulted in drawing another walk for Mickey Moniak that loaded the bases.
He then hit Taylor Ward on a wild pitch in the head that resulted in the first run getting scored. The Blue Jays starter was then removed from the mound. Previously, he had also hit Ohtani near the foot in the first innings.
Shohei Ohtani's walk might be motivated by Matt Chapman's plea in first game
In the first game of the series after Shohei Ohtani hit a 397-foot drive deep toward right field for his league leading 39th homer. Matt Chapman could be seen complaining to Schneider about why the team didn't choose to intentionally walk the major destructive force in the Angels lineup.
That might just be the reason why the Blue Jays captain was cautious on Saturday. The Blue Jays rallied after that solitary run and hit the Angels bullpen all over the park to secure a 6-1 win and a series victory.