It wasn’t much of a Sho-down. The much anticipated return of global star Shohei Ohtani to the Bronx against the Yankees unassuming ace, Nestor Cortes, lasted just three innings. Cortes cruised through seven scoreless innings, while the Bombers chased the Angels two-way star off the mound in a rain-delayed 6-1 win of the first game of a split doubleheader at the Stadium.
The Yankees (35-14) have won two in a row and clinched the series against the Angels (27-24), who have now lost seven straight. The game was delayed by a quick-moving storm just as the teams took the field for the ninth inning. Wandy Peralta finished off the bottom of the Angels order after a one hour and 28 minute delay.
Ohtani, the 6-foot-4, reigning American League MVP, who is marketed heavily as the face of baseball, was simply overshadowed by the Yankees’ surprising 5-foot-11, 36th-round drafted ace.
Cortes just methodically dominated the Angels hitters, including Ohtani and fellow star Mike Trout. He threw seven scoreless, scattering five hits and two walks. He struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.50. Cortes got 12 swings and misses, six with his cutter and another eight called strikes with it. He had 12 called strikes on his four-seam fastball.
Opponents are hitting just .176 (38-for-215) against him this season. He has allowed three earned runs or less in his last 19 starts.
Ohtani allowed four earned runs on eight hits, including three home runs. He walked one and struck out two. It was better than his only other start against the Yankees, when he couldn’t get out of the first inning last June here.
Matt Carpenter led off the game with an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with him homering to the short porch in right field. Carpenter is just the third Yankee to homer for each of his first three hits with the Bombers. Gleyber Torres hit his 10th dinger of the season, one better than he had in all of 2021, in the first off Ohtani, too. Aaron Judge hit his major-league leading 19th homer of the season in the third off Ohtani.
The Angel got just three swing-and-misses and got hammered on his four-seam fastball.
That was it for Ohtani as a pitcher, but he remained in the game as the designated hitter. He went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts, including one to end the game. Mike Trout went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts.
DJ LeMahieu hit his fourth home run of the season—his first since May 21—in the fifth inning off Jhonathan Diaz. Marwin Gonzalez doubled in a run and Miguel Andujar brought one across on a sacrifice fly.
Clarke Schmidt, who last pitched in Sunday’s loss to the Rays, came in and gave up the shutout, allowing the Angels to score on Luis Rengifo’s single in the eighth.
Aaron Hicks, who had been scuffling to start the season, had his first three-hit game of the season. Jose Trevino had two hits and the platooning catcher is now hitting .275.
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