Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani puts on a show for Miami Marlins fans

MIAMI — A vocal crowd of 18,741 came to see a show on Wednesday night at loanDepot park.

For the price of admission, they got to see two for the price of one. Two-way player Shohei Ohtani did double damage to the Miami Marlins in the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-2 victory.

On the mound, Ohtani struck out 10, yielding two hits and one unearned run in seven innings. At the plate, the slugger drove in two runs with a single; he also walked, stole a base and scored.

Miami is known for being an “event town,” and Ohtani didn’t disappoint as the main attraction. The left-handed-hitting and right-handed-pitching star snapped the Marlins’ six-game winning streak and ended the Angels’ four-game losing skid.

Mattingly sends a message: Marlins 5 Takeaways: Mattingly sticks with Alcantara, Garcia's big home run

Buyers ... or sellers? Marlins could be playoff contenders - or trade partners

South Florida fans got to witness the spectacle of the major league's most versatile star in person for the first time this week. On Tuesday, Ohtani’s 28th birthday, he was the designated hitter. In Wednesday’s series finale, Ohtani made his 14th start and improved to 8-4 with a 2.44 ERA.

“It was a little humid,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “I wasn’t really used to that, but it’s a beautiful stadium. I have no complaints.”

In the fifth inning, Ohtani’s two-out, two-run single off Trevor Rogers put the Angels in front 3-0. Staying on a 97.3 mph elevated fastball, Ohtani laced his single through the left side of the Marlins’ infield. He gestured to his dugout on his way to first base.

“I was just telling myself not to strike out,” Ohtani said. “Put the ball in play, and something is going to happen. It happened to find a hole somewhere.”

Ohtani walked in the seventh inning, stole a base and scored a run.

Ohtani draws comparisons to Babe Ruth

You have to go back to Babe Ruth, who transitioned from a standout pitcher to a home run king in his day, to find a player close to Ohtani’s all-around skill set.

“Basically, it’s kind of like back to high school,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You pitched, and you played. You hit. We’ve gotten away from that in pro ball, where guys have just done one thing. You turn pitchers into non-athletes, from the standpoint, they’re not allowed to do anything. It’s good to see.”

There’s a reason there aren’t many two-way players — because it’s really hard to excel as one. The Marlins had an All-Star pitcher who was a terrific hitter — for a pitcher. That was Dontrelle Willis, the 2003 All-Star, National League Rookie of the Year and a World Series champion as a rookie.

Willis, in 2005, went 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA, and finished runner-up in the N.L. Cy Young Award voting to Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals. At the plate, Willis hit .261 with one homer, four doubles and 11 RBIs.

As good a hitter as Willis was, he wasn’t to the level of an above-average big league position player. Ohtani has an .839 OPS, 18 home runs and 53 RBIs this season.

“It’s pretty incredible, just the talent that he has — on both sides of the ball,” Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings said. “He’s an MVP candidate as a hitter, and he’s a Cy Young candidate as a pitcher. It’s really incredible. You really can’t say enough about his talent.”

In 2021, Ohtani was the American League's MVP, batting .257 with a .592 slugging percentage. The power is off the charts, as he belted 46 home runs, scored 103 runs and drove in 100. If that wasn’t enough, he stole 26 bases.

“I’m friends with a couple of guys that played with him,” Stallings said. “They all speak really highly of him as a teammate, and as a person, too. He’s got it figured out, that’s for sure. You don’t see it. You haven’t seen it since, what, Babe Ruth? It’s pretty incredible.”

Stallings got to experience the heat Ohtani brings, fanning on a fastball in the fifth inning clocked at 100.9 mph.

“The Ohtani Show” follows him wherever he goes. About 20 Japan-based media outlets, print and television, travel with the Angels. The numbers are often higher for him in Los Angeles.

South Florida baseball fans got their chance to see him on back-to-back days. Even relatives of opposing players are fans.

“My family switched their flight to New York to Thursday instead of [Wednesday] so they could see him pitch,” Stallings said. “You don’t get to see something like that every day. He’s remarkable.”

Don Mattingly, an MVP with the Yankees, amazed by Ohtani

Mattingly, an American League MVP with the New York Yankees in 1985, is amazed by how Ohtani can hold up and perform at such a high level as a full-time pitcher and designated hitter.

“It’s just the wear and tear on your body,” Mattingly said. “It takes a lot mentally.”

For perspective. Marlins right-hander Pablo Lopez notes that the day after he pitches, he spends the next day taking care of his body. That routine often includes running on either flat ground or up and down the steps at the ballpark, as well as leg work in the weight room.

For Ohtani, once he stops pitching, he transitions to hitting.

“I’m trying to take care of my body, to take care of my core, and all that,” Lopez said. “I can’t imagine that he does that. He goes out and hits BP or flips in the cage. I was thinking, this guy is pitching [Wednesday].”

To handle the workload of pitching and hitting requires a special type of discipline. At the ballpark, Ohtani follows his routine.

“We all get to see how he works before a game, and the effort he puts in, and what he does with his body,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “Working pitching. Working hitting. How he intertwines those things, it’s impressive. I can follow him around all day and watch what he does. Here, you get a DH day, and you get to watch him pitch. So you can see all of him.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani puts on show for Miami Marlins fans