In a rare pitching-focused outing for Shohei Ohtani, the star delivered for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It was a rare time where Shohei Ohtani didn’t hit for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the Dodgers’ series finale against the New York Mets, Ohtani pitched but did not hit for the first time since May 28, 2021. He had gone 16 innings without allowing a run until that was snapped by a ground-rule double by MJ Melendez. In response, a perturbed Ohtani rattled off four straight 100-mph fastballs to escape the only jam he’d be in all night in the team’s 8-2 win to sweep the Mets in the series. Through three starts and six innings pitched, Ohtani has allowed just one run to 10 strikeouts with a 0.50 ERA to start his campaign.
Since 2021, the “Ohtani Rule” has been instituted by the MLB which allows pitchers to be in the lineup if they start at designated hitter. However, the two-way man focused on just pitching in Wednesday’s win, after a scare where he got hit by a pitch. The team and doctors felt it was best for him to just focus on that aspect and prepare for the upcoming series in Denver that always challenges in high altitude. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts felt the difference was noticeable to watch him solely focus on pitching. In his place, Dalton Rushing started at DH, who hit a grand slam to put the game away in the eighth.
Here is the full story from Dodgers Roundtable writer Adriana Medina on the rare and dominant outing for Ohtani in the series finale.
Rushing, who started in his place, sees the value in separating the two elite strengths that Ohtani possesses, and is “arguably one of the best now” in major league pitchers. With early Cy Young buzz building, the team will try to block out the outside noise and prepare to face the Colorado Rockies.