"What our guy does, until somebody can do that offensively and what he does on the mound, as far as value in this game and this league, I think it's Shohei,” Nevin said. “But I really love the guy across the field. I know what kind of special person he is."
Nevin was also pleased that Ohtani’s two-run homer proved to be the difference in Monday’s 4-3 win, while Yankees skipper Aaron Boone didn’t appear to be in the mood to marvel at Ohtani or the AL MVP race with his club suffering another loss in a tough August.
“Ohtani hit a big homer against us that hurt us,” Boone said. “I certainly respect his talent and what he is to this sport. So, I mean, I have that respect and admiration for him and the way he goes about things, but I don't really get caught up in trying to appreciate the opponents -- especially when they're beating us."
Ohtani is set to make his next start on the mound on Saturday against the Astros, as the Angels will give him an extra day of rest after Thursday’s off-day. With another off-day coming on Sept. 8, Ohtani’s next start after that would also come against the Astros in Houston on Sept. 10. He’s expected to make five more starts down the stretch, which gives him a strong chance of reaching 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career. He also has to get to 162 innings to be qualified for the ERA title.
“Any way you look at it, if you bump him up, he’s going to make the same amount of starts,” Nevin said. “It just works that way with some Saturdays and then a Friday. If we don’t have a day off, he’ll pitch every six days and if we do, he’ll pitch on the seventh day.”