Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending the first MLB showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers' Kenta Maeda and the Los Angeles Angels' two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.
Though they briefly battled in the Japanese majors, this was the first meeting in the MLB. And for Dodgers' fans, Maeda did not disappoint.
Maeda struck-out Ohtani at the first at-bat, and then induced a weak-contact fly-ball out in the second at-bat. But don't feel too bad for Ohtani, because Maeda put on a masterclass, giving up only one run on three hits.
And also don't feel bad for Ohtani because it was his walk on closer Kenley Jansen, and subsequent stolen bases that sparked the comeback win for the Angels.
Overall, it was a tremendous game, and I believe the ultimate winner was Japanese baseball, which has dramatically improved over the past 20 years.