Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani can’t carry team to victory on big night

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 28: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 28, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 28: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 28, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Shohei Ohtani can’t do it all himself, even if he tries. The two-way star arrived in New York City this week and has been putting on a show. He hit a home run Monday and added two more Tuesday to take the MLB lead with 28 on the year.

The only problem from Tuesday? The Los Angeles Angels still lost, even with the two blasts from Ohtani. That is a common theme for the franchise and Ohtani is now learning how Mike Trout feels on a daily basis.

Angels pitching is too much to overcome

The problem on Tuesday was not the offense. It was the fact starter Andrew Heaney allowed seven earned runs in only three innings of work. The bullpen combined to allow four more in what ended up being an 11-5 Yankees win.

It almost seems like every time we see an Ohtani highlight, the score is always in favor of the opposition. He could hit 100 home runs and it may not be enough to even get the Angels to .500 on the year.

Yet this reality is nothing new to Angels fans and further illustrates how a few players cannot solely turn around a baseball team. The pitching has been the problem for years and the front office in Los Angeles continues to either ignore that obvious fact or is really bad at sales pitches to free agents.

Next. Ohtani arrives at Yankee Stadium. dark

Enjoying the success of a few individuals seems to be the only way Angels fans can stay sane given the past decade of play for the team. While watching Ohtani put on a show is indeed fun, some Angels fans may lose interest if the team can’t win games.