NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani will make his next mound start for the Los Angeles Angels in Friday night’s homestand opener against the Kansas City Royals.
The two-way Japanese star threw just two innings and 31 pitches in Monday’s start at Boston before his outing was cut short by an 85-minute rain delay.
“We kind of look at this as a lengthy bullpen,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said Tuesday. “Just get him right back out there. And it makes sense if you line it up with some travel days.”
Ohtani is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in four starts, striking out 27 and walking 13 in 21 innings. He entered a series opener at Yankee Stadium with a .298 batting average, three homers and nine RBIs.
Angels infielder David Fletcher was assigned outright to Salt Lake, removing him from the 40-man roster three days after he was optioned to the Triple-A farm team.
“He’s a big part of what we’ve done and what we think we’re going to go in the future,” Nevin said. “He’s just got to get out there and play, get back to what Fletch was. I realize that comes with consistent at-bats and I told him that. Part of that’s on me. He didn’t play a lot when he was here, and I’m the one that makes the lineup.”
Los Angeles brought up 22-year-old Zach Neto last weekend, the first player to make the major leagues from last year’s amateur draft, after Fletcher hit .125 (2-for-16) with one RBI with the Angels.
“He easily can get back in that mix, without a doubt,” Nevin said. “It’s just going to take some time.”