Angels skipping Ohtani's turn in rotation due to blister
Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani will not pitch during the series against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin.
Manager Joe Maddon said Ohtani's turn in the rotation is being skipped because of a blister, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
Ohtani was originally scheduled to start Sunday.
He's expected to return to the mound sometime next week against either the Kansas City Royals or Minnesota Twins.
Andrew Heaney will start Friday's game as scheduled with Jose Quintana going Saturday and Alex Cobb wrapping up the series in Ohtani's place, Fletcher adds.
This isn't the first time Ohtani's had blister trouble this year. He was forced to leave his final start of spring training after 2 1/3 innings because of a blister on his right middle finger.
Ohtani made his first start of the regular season on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox. He also batted second as the club decided to forego the designated hitter to allow Ohtani to remain in the lineup. He rewarded the decision by following a scoreless first with a massive home run in the bottom half of the inning.
Altogether, he allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out seven and walking five over 4 2/3 innings in his first start.