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Shohei Ohtani had start pushed back for surprising reason

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 5/27/21

Shohei Ohtani was schedule to make a pitching start on Thursday night for the Angels against the A’s, but the outing was moved back for an odd reason.

Ohtani and catcher Kurt Suzuki got stuck in traffic trying to travel by bus to RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland. Due to the traffic, they got off the bus and tried to take the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, which is a train/subway system. They had a delay when transferring trains and ended up being delayed by about an hour.

The BART, by the way, is the Bay Area subway system

— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) May 28, 2021

Angels manager Joe Maddon says that Ohtani is very regimented and likes to begin his preparation for evening games around 4PM. Once he got delayed, they began making alternative plans. Patrick Sandoval ended up starting against Oakland instead.

Even though Ohtani was not able to start as a pitcher, he still was in the lineup as a designated hitter. So at least the Angels were able to have him in the game despite the issue.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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