MLB Game Preview - LA Angels at Oakland

Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:05 PM EDT

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Shohei Ohtani era in Major League Baseball is expected to begin as a pinch hitter on Thursday afternoon when the Los Angeles Angels open the 2018 season against the Oakland Athletics.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced this week that Ohtani, a dominant force in Japan as a hitter and a pitcher, will be the club's starting pitcher in the series finale on Sunday.

As for the 23-year-old's role in the first three games, Scioscia has kept his thoughts to himself in regard to the left-handed batter who hit just .125 (4-for-32) in the spring.

Ohtani is expected to share the designated hitter role with veteran Albert Pujols, who also will see time at first base so that the duo can be used in tandem.

Scioscia will call upon right-hander Garrett Richards to pitch on Opening Day, opposed by Oakland righty Kendall Graveman.

Richards had a solid spring, going 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in four starts, but the Angels will have their fingers crossed when he takes the hill Thursday.

That's because Richards has been healthy enough to pitch just six games in each of the last two seasons, having suffered an elbow injury in 2016 and a biceps issue last season.

The latter occurred in his first start of 2017, after he had pitched 4 2/3 innings of three-hit, shutout ball against the A's in the third game of the season.

One out from a probable win -- the Angels led 5-0 at the time -- Richards felt tightness in his right biceps and had to be removed from the game. He didn't appear in another major league game until September.

Scioscia says the 29-year-old who has compiled 2.34 and 2.28 ERAs in his last two aborted seasons has earned the right to throw the club's first pitch of 2018.

"He showed first of all," Scioscia insisted, "that he's totally healthy, ready to go. His velocity is there; his movement is there."

Richards is 2-4 with a 4.12 ERA in 16 career meetings, including 12 starts, with the A's. He's gone 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 10 appearances (eight starts) in Oakland.

The Angels and A's split a four-game season-opening series in Oakland last season, with Graveman getting the A's off to a successful start with a 4-2 win on Opening Day.

With Sonny Gray having been dealt to the New York Yankees late last season, and injuries/question marks clouding many of his other options, A's manager Bob Melvin announced early on that Graveman would get the ball on Opening Day for the second year in a row.

The 27-year-old has made 11 previous starts in his career against the Angels, going 2-2 with a 3.96 ERA.

The A's biggest changes in the offseason came in the starting staff's support group -- two-time All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy and relievers Emilio Pagan, Yusmeiro Petit and Ryan Buchter to complement closer Blake Treinen and setup man Chris Hatcher.

Lucroy, who was signed just 20 days ago, said he's working overtime studying up on his pitchers.

"In this world of analytics and sabermetrics, the biggest thing for me is personalities -- what they're like, how they react -- to enable me to get the very best out of them every time they're on the mound," he said. "You have to be a mix of things. There are guys you can motivate a little more; there are some other guys you can't. You have to try something different."