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It turns out Shohei Ohtani actually has a blister issue on his middle finger. The trolls may want to believe the Angels were trying to save Ohtani from embarrassment after his short outing against the Red Sox, but the blister is legit and a little gross:
Maybe this is why he struggled last night. Check out what Shohei Ohtani's middle finger looked like just a couple of days ago. #blister #ouch #TheHaloWay @FrankDangelo23 pic.twitter.com/UX9vzpvONJ
— NextSportStar.com (@NextSportStar) April 18, 2018
So the narrative here should shift to why the Angels allowed him to pitch with this issue, right? If that’s what his finger looked like would it not be wise to sit him? Blisters can nag all season long — just ask Rich Hill and Aaron Sanchez.
The picture quality isn't good but it looks like a torn blister on his middle finger? I hope I'm wrong tho 😭
(he once got pulled when his blister popped during a game in Japan and it took him months before he could return on the mound)#大谷翔平 #ShoheiOhtani #TheHaloWay pic.twitter.com/IkPPtpuTij— Shohei 🐻 二刀流 (@deepredthread) April 18, 2018
Ohtani was asked if the blister had any effect on his pitches postgame, and he responded by saying he didn’t have feel for his fastball, splitter, or slider, which probably explains his spring training-esque outing:
Shohei Ohtani says the blister that took him out of Tuesday's game will not impact his hitting and he will take it "day by day" after talking with the @Angels medical staff pic.twitter.com/1sAREsDVp1
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) April 18, 2018
Angels manager Mike Scioscia hopes Ohtani will be able to make his next start Tuesday against Houston (via The OC Register’s Jeff Fletcher):
“Hopefully he’s going to make his next start,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We’ll see how it goes. He’s had these occasionally in Japan. He’s not overly concerned.”
Angels pitchers tend to break frequently (see: JC Ramirez, Andrew Heaney, Matt Shoemaker, etc.), so we should all probably be a little concerned.
