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Sho-No! Ohtani gets rocked again, watches spring ERA grow to 16.20

Matt Kartozian / USA TODAY Sports

It might be time to start worrying about Shohei Ohtani.

Six days removed from surrendering six runs over three innings to a Mexican minor-league team, the Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom was hammered hard by a Colorado Rockies team that dressed most of its major-league talent.

Things started out well for Ohtani. He struck out DJ LeMahieu and Trevor Story in a 20-pitch first inning, in which he topped out at 98 mph and offered a mix of fastballs, sliders, and curveballs.

But the wheels fell off in the second inning.

Ohtani surrendered seven runs while recording just one out before his day was cut short at 50 pitches. He allowed seven of the eight batters he faced in the frame to reach base, and served up home runs to Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado. The Angels had scheduled Ohtani to throw four or five innings, so he finished up his day throwing in the bullpen.

Angels skipper Mike Scioscia has preached patience with Ohtani as he adjusts to life in the majors, but in 8 1/3 innings against various levels of competition - including minor-league games - he's allowed 17 runs (15 earned) off 18 hits (four home runs) and three walks for a 16.20 ERA, while striking out 15.

Ohtani agreed to a minor-league deal in December so the Angels do have the option to start him in the minors, though it doesn't appear that's something they're currently considering.

"We're not going to get into roster decisions," Scioscia said prior to the start, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com. "I can only say that Shohei's talent is real. Obviously we believe in it. We anticipate him being ready to both pitch and hit when the season starts. And we're going to work hard to reach that goal from now until we start the season. That's what we're going to focus on."

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