Sunday afternoon, two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani is making his first start for the Los Angeles Angels (GameTracker). He started Opening Day at DH and went 1 for 5. Now he's making his first appearance as a pitcher.

As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange Country Register notes, Ohtani is doing something that has not been done in nearly a century. From Fletcher:

He will be the first player in nearly 100 years to start as a pitcher and a non-pitcher within the first 10 games of a season. Joe Bush of the Boston Red Sox and Clarence Mitchell of the Brooklyn Dodgers did it in 1920.

The last time a player started as a pitcher and non-pitcher any time in the same season was 1988, when New York Yankees pitcher Rick Rhoden started one game at DH.

As you've no doubt heard, Ohtani did not have a good spring training, either at the plate or on the mound. He went 4 for 32 (.125) with four singles and 10 strikeouts as a hitter, and allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 2 1/3 innings in two Cactus League starts. Ohtani also pitched in several minor league side games with mixed results.

Angels GM Billy Eppler and manager Mike Scioscia insist they are not concerned about Ohtani's spring performance. And, for what it's worth, one of Ohtani's former teammates with the Nippon Ham Fighters expects him to take his game to another level now that the games mean something. 

Sure enough, Ohtani came out of the gate Sunday throwing darts, sitting in the upper-90s with his fastball and showing a devastating splitter. His first seven fastballs: 96, 98, 99, 99, 99,98, 100. 

Ohtani got Oakland Athletics slugger Matt Olson to swing over top of this wicked split-finger fastball to end the first inning.

The second inning did not go as well. Matt Joyce and Stephen Piscotty strung together back-to-back one-out singles against Ohtani, then Matt Chapman jumped on a hanging slider for a three-run home run. Chapman was a little out in front, but he was still able to muscle the ball out of the park.

To the action footage:

Ohtani got away with a few sliders up in the zone earlier in the inning. Chapman didn't let him get away with that one. 

Ohtani did rebound with a quick 1-2-3 third inning.