Shintaro Fujinami's MLB debut didn't go as planned, with the Athletics falling to the Los Angeles Angels 13-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.
The 28-year-old had a stellar first two innings that included a strikeout of Angels outfielder Mike Trout. However, Fujinami's start would go off the rails in the top of the third inning, where he allowed eight earned runs on five hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings pitched
A's manager Mark Kotsay pinpointed where he believes the outing for the Oakland right-hander began to go south.
"First two innings, I thought Fuji was great," Kotsay told reporters postgame. "He dominated hitters with his fastball and his split; in the third there to [Luis] Rengifo, 3-2 pitch with a slider, so he walked the lead-off guy and it just seemed to spiral on him there.
"[Fujinami] kind of went away from the fastball [and] split combo to the slider. And I think that pitch got hit a little bit and he kind of sprayed the fastball more that inning, which led to the results. And you look at the first two innings and you know what he's capable of doing. And I think we'll dive into it and hopefully get him back on track."
While Kotsay and the coaching staff will look at the film to help Fujinami adapt to major league hitting, the former Hanshin Tigers star knows what went wrong for him in the third inning.
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"In the first two innings, the fastball was working very well and I thought too much [heading into] the third inning," Fujinami told reporters through his translator postgame. "I threw too [many] off-speed [pitches] and I should have thrown more fastballs in that inning."
The MLB debut didn't go as planned for Fujinami. Still, in the first inning, he did get an opportunity to face fellow Japanese countryman and Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, who grounded out.
Fujinami reflected on the first of potentially many matchups he will have against Ohtani throughout the 2023 MLB season.
"You know, obviously [Ohtani is] a good player, but, you know, there's other guys on the lineup and the great players," Fujinami continued. "He's one of the best hitters in the world, so I'm just glad that I got to face those guys."
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The A's rookie pitcher, who signed a one-year contract with Oakland this offseason, will get another shot next Saturday in an attempt to bounce back and secure his first major league win.
Meanwhile, Oakland will attempt to win the rubber match against the Angels, with Ken Waldichuk taking the mound for the A's against Angels lefty Tyler Anderson.