Apr 09 (NHK) - Japanese baseball superstar Ohtani Shohei has kicked off his fifth season in the United States. It was the first time in Major League history that a starting pitcher also led off an opening game at the plate.
On Thursday, Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels faced the Houston Astros, last year's American League champs in Anaheim, California.
Fans are hoping Ohtani will repeat his historic season last year.
He started on the mound with a strikeout in a scoreless first inning. At the plate, he hit the first pitch, but grounded out.
Ohtani allowed one run in the third inning, but he struck out all three batters in the fourth.
He had a total of nine strikeouts before leaving the game as pitcher in the middle of the fifth inning.
In the eighth inning, Ohtani hit a towering fly ball, but his night ended without a hit.
