The Los Angeles Angels say two-way Japanese star Ohtani Shohei has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow and will not pitch again this season.

The Major League club made the announcement after a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.

Angels General Manager Perry Minasian said, "We did imaging between games and he does have a tear, and he won't pitch the rest of the year."

The right-hander was a starting pitcher in Game 1 of the doubleheader, but left the mound after just 1 1/3 innings. The club initially said he had right arm fatigue.

Ohtani had hit his MLB-leading 44th homer of the season in the first inning.
He also appeared in Game 2 as a designated hitter, batting second. He went one for five.

Ohtani has started 23 games as a pitcher this season, with 10 wins, five losses and a 3.14 earned-run average.

The 29-year-old has become the first-ever MLB player to get both double-digit wins and homers for two seasons in a row.

Ohtani has not cleared the number of innings pitched to qualify for pitching titles, but he has so far racked up 167 strikeouts in 132 innings, with an MLB-best .184 opponent batting average.

This is the second time that Ohtani has suffered a torn ligament in the right elbow, following one in 2018. He underwent Tommy John surgery in October that year and did not pitch in 2019. He fully made a comeback as a pitcher in 2021.