Shohei Ohtani returned and had his last preseason outing with the Angels pitching against the Diamondbacks' minor league team.

Photo: AP Photo/Matt York

Star Shohei Ohtani returned to Los Angeles Angels camp Friday after his

Most Valuable Player performance in the World Baseball Classic.

Three days after striking out Mike Trout to clinch the WBC title for Japan against the United States in Miami, Ohtani was out on the Tempe fields, pitching in a minor league game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Friday's outing was to keep Ohtani in time for his opening day start next Thursday visiting the Oakland Athletics.

He faced 19 batters as he worked into the fifth inning, walked one and struck out eight

.

He allowed four hits, including a home run by Gavin Conticello, an eighth-round draft pick out of Arizona in 2021.

Druw Jones, the Diamondbacks' first-round pick last season and son of 10-time Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones, singled off Ohtani.

“Today's game was catching up on my pitch count, getting used to the shot clock again and using PitchCom,” Ohtani said through an interpreter after throwing 78 pitches.

"Everything is fine from my end."

“I felt like with all the pitching and all the intensity of the Clasico, I was ready for opening day.

Today it was just fine-tuning things, getting used to (the new rules)," he said.

Ohtani made only one start for the Angels before leaving for Japan, for whom he pitched 9 2/3 innings with a 1.86 ERA in three WBC appearances.

The last outing was Tuesday's ninth-inning appearance against the United States, where he fanned out Trout with a full-count slider to kick off the celebration.


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The party was short-lived, however, as Ohtani returned to his MLB team on Wednesday so he could begin preparing for the regular season, after which he will be a free agent.

He was second in AL MVP voting

after hitting 34 home runs and driving in 95 runs for the Angels last season while posting a 2.33 ERA in 28 starts with a 15-9 record.

He didn't hit Friday, but Angels manager Phil Nevin said the 28-year-old Ohtani will be the Angels' designated hitter for all three games of the Freeway Series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers beginning Sunday that concludes. the exhibition season.

Trout, who did not return to Arizona after the WBC, will meet the Angels there.

Tuesday's relief appearance came on a day he was scheduled for a side session between starts in the bullpen.

He just happened to appear on the big stage.

Nevin said he watched his two superstars go head-to-head "just like any other fan."

He was ready to see closing in on Ohtani.

"I wasn't worried about him at all," Nevin said.

“We had that planned all along.

I just couldn't convey that to you guys yet.

We knew it was a possibility.

I trust him and I trust that he knows his body better than anyone."

As for Ohtani, the excitement was something he hadn't felt in a while, as the Angels haven't been contenders despite the efforts of Ohtani and Trout.

"The first time I've pitched in a playoff atmosphere like that since my days in Japan," Ohtani said.

"I've never experienced a World Series, but I suppose it would be something similar."

Nevin said he would be tempted to use Ohtani as a reliever in the same way if the Angels could make the postseason.

“I got a lot of text messages… who I support, how I feel,” the manager said.

“I can tell you exactly what I was feeling.

I felt that this is the best game in the world.

There is no other sport, no other situation that can create that kind of drama and atmosphere, one against one, the two best players in the world.

It's what makes our game great."

(With information from ESPN Deportes)