Shohei Ohtani's bid for a no-hitter ended with two outs in the eighth inning, but the Los Angeles Angels' two-way player settled for eight scoreless innings in a 4-2 victory over the Oakland A's on Thursday night in Anaheim, California, earning him his 15th win.
Oakland's Conner Capel singled to center on a 1-2 cutter with two outs in the eighth inning on Ohtani's 95th pitch of the night to break up the no-hitter. Dermis Garcia followed with a single, but Ohtani got out of the inning when he retired Shea Langeliers on a grounder to third.
From the seventh inning until the no-hitter ended, the Anaheim home crowd rained down chants of "MVP! MVP!" in support of Ohtani. The fans were urging their franchise ace and 34-home-run slugger to achieve what many must have thought might seal the debate surrounding Ohtani and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge over who should win American League MVP honors.