Ohtani to bat first as designated hitter in MLB All-Star Game
This year's game will take place at the Atlanta Braves' Truist Park on Tuesday.
The rosters were announced at a news conference on Monday attended by the American and National league managers.
Ohtani, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was selected to play in the game for the National league through fan voting.
He will face off against the American League's starting pitcher, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.
Skubal won last year's Cy Young Award for best pitcher and has 10 wins so far this season with a 2.23 earned run average, the second best in his league.
Ohtani was asked by reporters about fans expecting him to hit a home run at the All-Star Game for a second straight year. He said he would be happy to hit a homer but that he will focus on hitting in his own way.
Asked about what he thought of the American League starting pitcher, Ohtani said Skubal is a pitcher he would rather not go up against since he excels at every kind of pitch, including the fastball. He said he will try not to be overwhelmed by the pitcher's force.
Japanese pitchers Yamamoto Yoshinobu of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kikuchi Yusei of the Los Angeles Angels have also been selected for the All-Star Game.
But their regular season pitching schedules may prevent them from taking part.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
16 hours ago
- Japan Times
Bulls sign Japanese guard Yuki Kawamura
Japanese point guard Yuki Kawamura has signed a contract with the Chicago Bulls after a strong NBA Las Vegas Summer League performance, the team announced on Saturday. The 24-year-old, who made his NBA debut last season with Memphis, played five games for the Bulls team in Vegas and averaged 10.2 points, 6.2 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals a game. Kawamura delivered a team-best 31 assists, second-most by any Bulls Summer League player since at least 2013, according to the club, and was one of only three players to average at least six assists and two steals in Summer League play. Last season, Kawamura averaged 1.6 points and 0.9 assists over 22 games off the bench for Memphis, with a best showing of 12 points, five rebounds and five assists against Dallas on April 13. To make room on the roster, the Bulls released guard Jahmir Young. Before coming to the NBA, Kawamura played five seasons in the B. League, the first with the San-en NeoPhoenix and the rest for the Yokohama B-Corsairs with career averages of 16.7 points, 7.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds. Kawamura played for Japan in last year's Paris Olympics, where he ranked third overall with 20.3 points a game and shared third with 7.7 assists per contest — making him the only player at the Games to average 20 points and seven assists.
Kyodo News
17 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Baseball: Ohtani hits 33rd home run as Dodgers fall 8-7 to Brewers
LOS ANGELES - Shohei Ohtani blasted his 33rd home run and had three RBIs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in an 8-7 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. The two-way star put the National League West leaders on the board at 4-2 with his two-run homer in the bottom of the third, sending his first pitch from Freddy Peralta (12-4) an estimated 448 feet over center field. Ohtani also lined a run-scoring single to left field in the sixth as part of his 2-for-5 outing at Dodger Stadium. After Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas hit back-to-back solo home runs to cut the Brewers' lead to 8-7 in the eighth, Ohtani flew out to the warning track to end the inning. Ohtani is scheduled to make his next start on the mound against the Minnesota Twins at home on Monday, as he builds his pitching workload back up following surgery on his throwing elbow in September 2023. At Wrigley Field, Shota Imanaga threw seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs in their 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. Imanaga (7-3) lowered his ERA to 2.40 on the season after giving up a solitary walk and five hits, including two to Samurai Japan teammate Masataka Yoshida, who went 2-for-4 as designated hitter for the Red Sox. At Nationals Park, Yu Darvish (0-2) was charged with San Diego's 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals after surrendering three runs on five hits and a walk over five innings. Los Angeles Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi struck out eight over five innings of five-hit, two-run ball and did not factor in his team's 9-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
The Mainichi
17 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Ohtani hits 33rd home run as Dodgers fall 8-7 to Brewers
LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) -- Shohei Ohtani blasted his 33rd home run and had three RBIs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in an 8-7 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. The two-way star put the National League West leaders on the board at 4-2 with his two-run homer in the bottom of the third, sending his first pitch from Freddy Peralta (12-4) an estimated 448 feet over center field. Ohtani also lined a run-scoring single to left field in the sixth as part of his 2-for-5 outing at Dodger Stadium. After Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas hit back-to-back solo home runs to cut the Brewers' lead to 8-7 in the eighth, Ohtani flew out to the warning track to end the inning. Ohtani is scheduled to make his next start on the mound against the Minnesota Twins at home on Monday, as he builds his pitching workload back up following surgery on his throwing elbow in September 2023. At Wrigley Field, Shota Imanaga threw seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs in their 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. Imanaga (7-3) lowered his ERA to 2.40 on the season after giving up a solitary walk and five hits, including two to Samurai Japan teammate Masataka Yoshida, who went 2-for-4 as designated hitter for the Red Sox. At Nationals Park, Yu Darvish (0-2) was charged with San Diego's 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals after surrendering three runs on five hits and a walk over five innings. Los Angeles Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi struck out eight over five innings of five-hit, two-run ball and did not factor in his team's 9-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
