Shohei Ohtani came through with the best performance of his career on the day the Los Angeles Angels committed to not trading the two-way star in the last year of his contract.  

Ohtani threw his first career shutout in the opening game of a doubleheader Thursday, then followed by hitting two home runs in the nightcap.

Ohtani allowed one hit and struck out eight in the Angels’ 6-0 win over the Detroit Tigers, then extended his MLB lead by hitting his 37th and 38th home runs of the season as Los Angeles won the second game 11-4.

Only muscle cramps could stop Ohtani from doing further damage, and he was pulled from the night game after his second homer.

Ohtani’s latest jaw-dropping performance comes after the Angels doubled down on their attempts to keep baseball’s most exciting player long-term.

On Wednesday, the Angels traded touted prospects Ky Bush and Edgar Quero to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to help make a push towards the playoffs.

Before Thursday’s doubleheader, general manager Perry Minasian said that the Angels will not deal Ohtani at the trade deadline, despite the risk of losing him for nothing this winter in free agency.

The Angels have won nine of their last 11 games as they seek their first playoff berth since 2014. Ohtani, who joined MLB and the Angels in 2018, has never played in the postseason.

Cubs beat Cardinals after dustup, extend run to 6

Justin Steele tied the major league lead with his 11th win, Cody Bellinger stayed hot with three more hits and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3 as tempers flared between the division rivals.

The victory extended the Cubs’ winning streak to a season-high six games and got them back to .500 for the first time since May 12.

In the first inning, the Cubs’ Ian Happ hit Cardinals catcher and former teammate Willson Contreras with the follow-through of his swing. St. Louis pitcher Miles Mikolas then hit Happ with a pitch and was ejected, along with Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol.

Steele (11-3) pitched six innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out four.

Bellinger had three singles to improve his batting average in July to .425 and Yan Gomes drove in three runs.

Andrew Knizner hit two home runs for the Cardinals, who have lost four straight against the Cubs.

Josh Naylor leads Guardians past White Sox

Josh Naylor drove in three runs to back Tanner Bibee’s fifth straight win as the Cleveland Guardians defeated the reeling Chicago White Sox, 6-3.

Naylor had a two-run double and scored in a three-run third against Dylan Cease that gave Cleveland a 4-0 lead. He had a strange RBI double in the seventh when reliever Aaron Bummer deflected his soft comebacker into center field, and Andres Gimenez scored on the play.

Bibee allowed three runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings to improve to 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA in his last seven starts.

Jake Burger hit two homers, but the White Sox dropped their sixth in a row.