Shohei Ohtani expected to make next start on Friday

As of right now, looks like the next time Shohei Ohtani will be taking the mound will be on Friday on the road at Oakland.

Normally he’d be a lot sooner in the rotation, but Angels manager Joe Maddon and the Angels coaching staff wanted to give him some extra days of rest. His last start came on Wednesday, where he threw 4 ²⁄₃ innings with five strikeouts. However, his velocity was noticeably lower than in previous starts. Good news is there doesn’t appear to be an injury of any kind.

“Other than the velocity on the gun, he really hasn’t complained about anything,” Maddon said on Saturday to the media. “And he wasn’t about complaining about that. I try to do my due diligence daily, and he says he feels fine.”

Angels links

• Two-way marvel Shohei Ohtani has bypassed superstardom for something larger: superhero status
• How a comic book character influenced Shohei Ohtani’s two-way dominance
• Angels experimenting with Matt Thaiss returning to catcher
• Former Angels players named to Team USA qualifying roster, including former Angels manager Mike Scioscia who will manage the team