Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani made his regular-season pitching debut on Sunday, taking on the Oakland Athletics in an Easter showdown.

After struggling during spring training, Ohtani looked much more like the high-caliber talent he was billed as entering last winter. He finished his first starting assignment having tossed six innings, over which he allowed three hits and three runs, which all came on a Matt Chapman home run in the second inning. He also recorded six strikeouts and a walk.

Ohtani threw 63 strikes on 92 pitches -- a 68 percent clip -- and showed impressive stuff all the while. His quickest fastball on the day clocked in just shy of 100 mph (99.6 mph), per Statcast, and he generated seven swings and misses on 48 heaters. When Ohtani wanted to take something off, he turned to his slider and splitter most often. The slider coerced five whiffs on 29 attempts, while the splitter netted five on 11 pitches.

If there was a negative to Ohtani's debut, it was his slider. Despite the swing-and-misses, the pitch was inconsistent in location and effectiveness, with a few too many being hung or backing up on him. Count the slider Chapman homered against as one of those mistakes. That Ohtani nonetheless was able to have the start he did -- even with the issues concerning his go-to secondary pitch -- is an encouraging sign for the Angels and their fans.

Overall, Ohtani showed why teams were so desperate to land him over the winter. He showcased good stuff delivered from an easy and athletic delivery, and did it against a potent lineup. It's just one start -- but boy, it has to be considered a successful one.