Ohtani follows up 8-RBI night with career-best 13 Ks vs. Royals

Less than 24 hours after putting on a remarkable hitting display against the Kansas City Royals, Shohei Ohtani turned in perhaps the finest pitching performance of his major-league career.

Ohtani allowed just two hits while striking out a personal-best 13 batters over eight innings of work in the Los Angeles Angels' 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

The reigning American League MVP allowed singles to the first two batters he faced, but locked things down from there, allowing just one more baserunner the rest of the way. He finished his evening with a flurry, freezing Emmanuel Rivera with a gorgeous slider for his 13th strikeout.

Ryan Tepera took over on the mound in the ninth and closed out the victory for Ohtani, his sixth win this season. The 27-year-old still doesn't have a complete game in the majors.

Ohtani's remarkable night on the mound came one day after he set a career-high as a hitter with eight RBIs. He's the first player ever to record both an eight-RBI game and 13-strikeout game at any point in his career, according to Sportsnet Stats and Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

After Wednesday's outing, Ohtani now sports a 2.90 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 90 strikeouts across 68 1/3 inings. At the plate, the 27-year-old is hitting .260/.336/.487 with 15 homers, 45 RBIs, and seven stolen bases.