ANAHEIM ― Shohei Ohtani made history last week by becoming the second player in the history of Major League Baseball to drive in eight runs as a hitter and record double-digit strikeouts as a pitcher. That he did so on consecutive days merely added to his legend.

Ohtani took the mound again Wednesday. One day after going 3 for 3 with a home run, Ohtani pitched 5⅔ innings and did not allow a run in the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

The Angels have won four consecutive Ohtani starts. During that run, he began an active streak of 21⅔ consecutive scoreless innings. Not only has he looked no worse for the wear of hitting and pitching on consecutive nights, Ohtani is thriving with a workload unparalleled in baseball history.

On his 66th pitch Wednesday, he reared back and fired a four-seamer clocked at 101 mph to Leury Garcia. It was the fastest he’s thrown a baseball in 2022, matching an inning-ending punchout from earlier this month. This time, there were two runners on base and two outs in the fourth inning. Ohtani wanted his first pitch to the free-swinging Garcia to be a strike. It missed wide.

Garcia ultimately walked to load the bases, but Ohtani came back to strike out the next hitter, Josh Harrison, to end the inning.

“He can scale more than most,” acting manager Ray Montgomery said of Ohtani’s velocity. “You wonder if he goes into a little cruise mode there, then decides to crank it up. Most people don’t do that when you get five, six innings into a game. He has the ability to do it basically whenever he wants. It’s impressive. It’s fun to watch.”

Of his sudden surges in velocity, Ohtani said through his interpreter, “it kind of happens naturally, depending on the situation and the pressure in the game.”

Ohtani (7-4) also drew a walk in four plate appearances as the Angels’ designated hitter. In the month of June, Ohtani compiled an 11-game hitting streak and hit the hardest home run of his career – a 118-mph blast Saturday night against the Seattle Mariners.

Wednesday’s win allowed the Angels (37-41) to take two of three games in the series, and four of nine on their homestand, before an announced crowd of 27,612. They will travel to Houston on Thursday in advance of a three-game weekend series.

White Sox starter Michael Kopech (2-5) began the first inning by allowing a single to Taylor Ward, followed by an RBI double by Mike Trout. Trout later came around to score on an error by Kopech himself. The pitcher’s day ended when he allowed a two-run home run to Luis Rengifo in the sixth inning.

Rengifo also hit a double, finishing 2 for 3 on a night when the Angels collected just five hits as a team.

That was enough offense for Ohtani, who allowed five hits, walked one batter and struck out 11. Uniquely, none of the 11 strikeouts came on fastballs. Five ended with a splitter, five with a slider, and one with a curveball. Ohtani threw two fastballs in excess of 100 mph; the pitch sat at 95 mph.

“I’m ready for anything from 95 to 101, 102,” Angels catcher Max Stassi said. “I just put the finger down, put my glove up and get ready to receive it.”

Sometimes, Stassi puts his glove down in the dirt, like in the first inning when Ohtani threw a two-strike splitter with runners on second and third. Stassi blocked the pitch with his right forearm to save a run; Gavin Sheets swung and missed to end the inning.

After the game, Stassi rolled up his sleeve to reveal his reward: a deep red bruise.

“Saved a run, so it’s worth it,” the catcher said.

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Jose Quijada relieved Ohtani with two outs in the fifth inning and a runner on first base. Ohtani’s pitch count (108) had matched his previous season high, and the White Sox had battled him through several long innings despite not scoring a run.

Quijada allowed a single to AJ Pollock, sending Jose Abreu to third base. The next batter, Garcia, hit a sharp comebacker to the mound. The left-handed pitcher whipped his glove toward his backhand, smothered the ball, and threw to first base to end the inning. Ohtani’s shutout streak was preserved.

Ryan Tepera allowed only an unearned run in the eighth inning, and Raisel Iglesias recorded his 15th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

While the Angels sputtered to a 10-18 record in June, Ohtani hit his stride. He said after the game that nothing “clicked” or “changed.” Externally at least, the Angels began to see their playoff hopes diminish with each loss. They changed managers. Pressure mounted.

“He takes games like this seriously because he knows what’s on the line,” Montgomery said. “He went out and demonstrated it again.”

Shohei special once again! 11 strikeouts:

5 Slider
5 Split-Finger
1 Curveball

He’s the only pitcher this season to strikeout more than 10 hitters TWICE, without any of the K’s coming on fastballs.

He also did it on 4/20 vs the Astros (12 K’s – none on fastballs).#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/OWOJ6K6BFn

— Inside Edge (@IE_MLB) June 30, 2022

Shohei Ohtani This Month:

– 11-game hit streak
– Career-high 8 RBI on June 21 vs KC
– Career-high 13 K on June 22 vs KC
– Hardest-hit HR of his career on June 25 vs SEA (118.0 mph)
– 21 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings and counting (longest streak of his MLB career) pic.twitter.com/idTCeMDgJw

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 30, 2022