The third time was not the charm for Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani had worked deep in his first two big-league starts as a pitcher, tallying 18 strikeouts, four hits, and three runs across 13 frames. On Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox, however, he was removed after two innings and 66 pitches. Along the way, Ohtani permitted four hits and three runs, and struck out just a single hitter. His trademark splitter was particularly ineffective, as he failed to record a strike despite throwing it 13 times.

Ohtani had a physical excuse for his off night: he had developed a blister.

With most pitchers, this would be a relatively small deal -- one unlikely to impact their next start. With Ohtani, there's no telling how this will affect his workload as a hitter. Will the Angels let him hit anyway, or will they force him to take a few days off until he's back to good health?

We'll find out in the coming days.