Superstar Shohei Ohtani drops down at Petco Park Monday as the Los Angeles Angels open a three-game series at Petco Park.
If Padre fans haven’t had much to cheer about so far – the team came back against the Reds Sunday, but still fell 4-3 – they certainly are hyped to see the hyphenate star, who is set to take the mound Tuesday at Petco.
Tickets are virtually sold out for the games, and Ohtani, the pitcher/designated hitter who wowed baseball by hitting 15 home runs last month, now has 30 for the year. He joins Babe Ruth as one of only four players in American League history to have so many homers in June.
His stats on the year:
- Hitting – .306 average, 31 home runs, 68 RBIs
- Pitching – 7-3, 3.02 ERA, 127 strikeouts
Meanwhile, the Padres ended their six-game skid Saturday with a 12-5 win over the Reds. And they pushed back late Sunday against Cincinnati with back-to-back home runs from Ha-Seong Kim and Fernando Tatis Jr. to tie it up 2-2 in the eighth.
But the Reds responded in the bottom of the inning, and after a two-out walk by Tom Cosgrove, Nick Martinez came in and gave up a homer to pinch hitter Tyler Stephenson. The Padres got one back in the ninth thanks to a double by Jake Cronenworth, but the rally fell short.
In addition, on Sunday, MLB revealed the All-Star reps for both leagues. The Padres don’t have a starter for the game, in Seattle July 11, but left fielder Juan Soto and closer Josh Hader are set to represent San Diego.
The team has yet to announce starters for the Angels series.
