Shohei Ohtani - May not pitch past WBC quarters Angels manager Phil Nevin said Monday that Ohtani's final appearance as a pitcher in the WBC would come in the quarterfinals, but Ohtani subsequently indicated that such a decision... Impact The report comes by way of Japanese journalist Naoyuki Yanagihara of Sports Nippon Newspapers. Ohtani is expected to pitch for Japan against Italy in a quarterfinal matchup early Thursday morning, and if that is indeed his final outing on the mound in the WBC, it would prevent him from throwing in a potential championship game in Miami on Tuesday, March 21. From a scheduling standpoint, Nevin's direction makes sense, as Ohtani typically pitches on five days of rest, and there would be four days between Japan's quarterfinal contest and the championship game (if the team makes it that far). Given Ohtani's response to word of Nevin's comments, however, it may not be set in stone that the star hurler would be kept off the mound in a potential title game.
MARCH 14, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
