Angels’ Shohei Ohtani has an RBI single and two walks in spring-training debut as a hitter

Reporting from PEORIA, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani finished his first spring-training day as a hitter the same way he started it: having never been retired in the Cactus League.

The Angels’ potential two-way star walked in his first two at-bats against the San Diego Padres on Monday and had an RBI single in his final plate appearance.

The single came off the first pitch against Michael Mariot, a 29-year-old reliever with 44 games of big-league experience.

Ohtani’s walks came against Jordan Lyles and Buddy Baumann. After his single, he was pulled from the game for a pinch-runner. The Angels entered the day hoping to get three at-bats for Ohtani.

He made his pitching debut in the Cactus League on Saturday, going 1⅓ innings against Milwaukee.

A star as both a hitter and pitcher in Japan, Ohtani, 23, signed with the Angels in December.

His pursuit has been one of the biggest stories so far in the early stages of spring training, with Ohtani’s pitching debut drawing nearly 100 members of the media.

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UPDATES:

2:15 p.m.: This article was updated after Ohtani’s three at-bats against the Padres.

This article was originally published at 7:20 a.m.