Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as designated hitter on Monday as the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 to win three out of four and take the teams' season-opening series.
A day after he was chased after 30 pitches in his first start in nearly two years, Ohtani was back in the starting lineup, batting third for the series finale against right-hander Chris Bassitt and the Athletics.
It was the first time in his major league career he backed up with the bat one day after pitching. The last time he played two straight days, the first as a pitcher and the next as a batter, was Sept. 22, 2016, when he helped the Nippon Ham Fighters survive a tight pennant race in the closing days of the season.