Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday hit a go-ahead, two-run homer for his 1,000th career hit and struck out a season-high eight over four innings in the longest mound outing yet this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar.
The right-hander made his eighth mound start of the season after not pitching last year while recovering from elbow surgery. He closed his outing against the St Louis Cardinals by striking out the side in the fourth and walked off wiping his face on a 32°C day.
Ohtani threw 54 pitches, 37 for strikes, and gave up one run and two hits. The Dodgers lost 5-3.
Photo: AFP
Ohtani’s 39th homer snapped a nine-game home run drought and traveled 134m to center, scoring Alex Call, who doubled leading off in the third, to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.
Ohtani joined new Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui as the third Japanese-born player to reach 1,000 career hits in the major leagues. He homered and recorded eight or more strikeouts for the third time in his career and first since 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels.
The Dodgers have taken a cautionary approach to Ohtani returning to being a two-way player, which is what he was for six seasons with the Angels.
“It’s been over two years since he’s done this, so he’s still sort of getting adjusted to this lifestyle as far as the day to day,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “I don’t think he’s there yet. I think it’s going to get better as he gets more time in.”
Ohtani’s strong performance came hours after he scored three runs in a 12-6 victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night.
“I don’t think any superlatives can do it any justice,” Roberts said. “He’s obviously physically talented, but he’s very disciplined in his preparation. He’s very strong of mind. He’s just a great competitor and obviously uber-talented.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Davis Schneider hit two of Toronto’s five home runs as the Blue Jays routed the Colorado Rockies 20-1 to complete a historic three-game sweep. The Cleveland Guardians beat the New York Mets 4-1, the Baltimore Orioles topped the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 and the New York Giants sank the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2.
The Washington Nationals pipped the Athletics 2-1, the Minnesota Twins caged the Detroit Tigers 9-4, the New York Yankees survived the Texas Rangers 3-2, the Chicago Cubs mauled the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 and the Tampa Bay Rays outplayed the Angels 5-4.
The Miami Marlins defeated the Houston Astros 6-4, the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3, the Milwaukee Brewers dropped the Atlanta Braves 5-4, the Seattle Mariners overcame the Chicago White Sox 8-6 and the San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with Reuters
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