Cracking Skenes — That 7th Inning From Ohtani Gave Me Chills

Man, Skenes was an absolute MONSTER today

Right from the first it was Ohtani vs. Skenes! A 94 mph splitter — that's just not a pitch a human being should be able to throw. Ohtani's first at-bat, he smoked it at 100.8 mph but it went as a grounder to right-center… ugh. But hey, he squared it up, so I was yelling "Next time! Get him next time!"

Then in the bottom of the first, WE'RE the ones who give up two bombs. Reynolds launched a monster at 111.6 mph, and then O'Hearn went deep right after. Those two homers had me honestly thinking, "Uh oh, this might be a rough one today…"

Ohtani gets handled by Skenes twice

In the 3rd, a four-pitch strikeout — three straight four-seamers over 97 mph. I mean, all you can do is laugh at Skenes. In the 5th he got his timing thrown off by a changeup and grounded out… that pitch was getting used on him relentlessly today. But I never stopped believing Ohtani-san would come through.

And then came the 7th! THIS! This right here!

Tied 2-2, and Ohtani-san — hitless to this point — comes up in the biggest spot and rips a go-ahead RBI double into left-center! Turning a 98.6 mph fastball around into a 101.5 mph liner — the guy is on another level! That one knock put us ahead, and man, did that beer taste good…

And from there it just wouldn't stop. Pagés piled on with a 105 mph homer, Ward and Freeman both came through with RBIs, and Ohtani even drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run — 10 runs in that inning alone! He laid off four sliders, too. Not swinging at junk is what makes Ohtani so great.

Ended up a 12-3 blowout

I had no idea how it'd go after that first inning, but by the end the lineup erupted and we cruised. Beating a top-tier opponent like Skenes makes this one even sweeter. Ohtani delivered when it counted in the end too — nothing to complain about, what a night. Keep this momentum rolling next game!