Monday brings us a shortened slate of just seven night games. Aaron Hicks will return from the injured list for his season debut with the Yankees after signing a seven-year, $70 million contract extension in February. A's right-hander Mike Fiers will make his first start since throwing his second career no-hitter last week. Elsewhere, the American League West-leading Astros are aiming to win their sixth in a row, and the Indians hope to shrink the gap between the first-place Twins.
All that and more in our daily roundup. Everything you need to know about Monday's MLB action is below.
Select games can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free). For more on what channel each game is on, click here.
Baseball schedule/scores for MondayOhtani hits first homer of 2019
Since returning from Tommy John surgery five games ago, Shohei Ohtani has largely struggled at the plate, and that's understandable. He's coming back from a major injury and there was bound to be some rust following the long layoff. Ohtani went 4 for 21 (.190) with seven strikeouts in those five games.
Despite the lack of production, the underlying numbers indicate Ohtani is on the cusp of a breakout. He went into Monday's game with an 96.2 mph average exit velocity and three of his last five balls in play were clocked at over 105 mph. Sure enough, Ohtani swatted his first home run of the season Monday night. To the action footage:
Opposite field! Off the facing of the second deck! That's not a cheapie, especially not a Target Field. Statcast recorded the home run at 111.7 mph exit velocity. Clearly, the strength and power are there. The exit velocity numbers say it and the homer confirms it. The only question is timing and Ohtani's timing was on point there.
Because he still has not been cleared to throw, Ohtani will spend the entire 2019 season as a DH. He can't pitch and the Angels can't even put him in the outfield. Still, Ohtani limited to DH is better than no Ohtani. He is one of the most fun -- and one of the best -- players in the game.
Quick hits
