Morning Sports Update

Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to start vs. Red Sox on Patriots’ Day

The Marathon Monday matchup is set to feature Ohtani, who is 2-0 with an 0.47 ERA in three starts in 2023.

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani pitching against the Nationals on April 11. AP Photo/Ashley Landis

The Bruins defeated the Capitals 5-2 on Tuesday, setting an NHL record for points in a single season (133). Boston is now 64-12-5 with one more game remaining in the regular season.

Also on Tuesday, the Red Sox lost to the Rays 7-2 as Tampa maintained its perfect start (11-0) to the new season.

The Celtics officially have a first-round playoff opponent after the Hawks defeated the Heat in the play-in game on Tuesday. Boston will host Atlanta in Game 1 on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Shohei Ohtani and Marathon Monday: An already big sports day in Boston will likely be even more entertaining on Monday, as Shohei Ohtani will reportedly start for the Angels against the Red Sox in the Patriots’ Day matchup.

Advertisement:

Angels reporter Rhett Bollinger noted that Ohtani, originally scheduled to start against the Yankees on Tuesday (April 18) will instead face Boston a day earlier.

The Patriots’ Day game gets underway at the unusual time of 11:10 a.m. (a Red Sox tradition). The game coincides with the city hosting the Boston Marathon.

Ohtani, 28, is coming off a 2-0 win over the Nationals on Tuesday in which he pitched seven scoreless innings, recording six strikeouts. The 2021 MLB MVP (who anchored Japan’s victory in the World Baseball Classic earlier in 2023) is 2-0 as a pitcher so far this season having only allowed one earned run in three starts (for an ERA of 0.47). He’s also batting .300 with three home runs and a .979 OPS.

Advertisement:

Trivia: Before coming to Major League Baseball, Shohei Ohtani played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. What former Red Sox pitcher (also of Japanese descent) played for that team prior to coming to Boston?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He established himself as an important relief pitcher after arriving in 2007, helping the Red Sox win the World Series that season.

More from Boston.com:

Brad Marchand broke out of his scoreless streak:

On this day: In 1994, Red Sox third baseman Scott Cooper hit for the cycle in a high-scoring 22-11 win over the Royals. Cooper went 5-6 with 5 RBIs, while Boston hit five home runs as a team in what proved to be a rout.

Daily highlight: Rodri gave Manchester City the lead (which they would not relinquish) in the opening leg of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, curving his shot around the defender and past Bayern Munich goalkeeper Yann Sommer in a 3-0 win.

Trivia answer: Hideki Okajima

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com