Shohei Ohtani’s reliance on his fastball caught up with him recently, making the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar intent on changing his pitch mix.
He had given up a combined nine runs and 14 hits in his two previous outings, a pair of Dodgers losses to the Los Angeles Angels, his former team, and the Colorado Rockies.
Making his 11th start on Wednesday as he returns from elbow surgery two years ago, Ohtani struck out a season-high nine over five innings in a 5-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds for his first win on the mound with the Dodgers.
Photo: AP
“The plan going into this game was to throw more curveballs and splits regardless of the lineup,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
His previous pitching win came on Aug. 9, 2023, with the Angels against San Francisco.
Against the Reds, Ohtani (1-1) allowed one run and two hits while walking two on a season-high 87 pitches, 53 for strikes. At the plate, he was one for five with a run.
“Everything was working. He got in a groove,” rookie Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said. “He figured out the curveball in the first inning and it was working really well for him. It was a big pitch.”
As they walked off the field together after the third inning, Ohtani put his arm around Rushing.
“Shohei’s calling every pitch the first few innings and then just so happened in the third I called one pitch, and from then on out he wanted me to call the game,” Rushing said. “We kind of trusted each other. We were very comfortable working together.”
Instead of relying on fastballs and sweepers as he had earlier this season, Ohtani bedeviled the Reds with off-speed and secondary pitches, before going to the fastball his final two innings.
“The great thing about Shohei is he can command, when he’s right, four or five pitches,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Today was a complete performance by Shohei.”
Ohtani did not pitch last season, his first with the Dodgers, while recovering from elbow surgery in September 2023. The team has carefully managed his workload since he returned to the mound.
“The No. 1 goal was to make sure my fastball and my velocity was where I want it to be,” Ohtani said. “As we’re progressing through this rehab in general, aside from the innings, I just really wanted to be able to incorporate other pitches.”
For the first time this season, Ohtani went the minimum five innings to qualify for a win. He is expected to make his next start on Wednesday next week at Pittsburgh, again targeting five innings.
“His feel for the game, his pitches, is truly remarkable,” Roberts said. “The last few starts he was pretty predictable, and so he was smart enough to kind of suss that out and get them off the scent.”
Ohtani retired 10 of his final 11 batters, including the last eight.
“He’s got everything,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “He’s good and he’s really tough on lefties.”
Elsewhere, the Rangers routed the Angels 20-3, the Red Sox edged the Orioles 3-2, the Yankees thrashed the Nationals 11-2, the Guardians stung the Rays 4-3, the Mariners sank the Padres 4-3, the Braves mastered the Marlins 12-1 and the Astros blanked the Rockies 4-0.
The Pirates pipped the Cardinals 3-1, the Mets thumped the Phillies 6-0, the Royals routed the White Sox 12-1, the Diamondbacks beat the Brewers 3-2, the Athletics tamed the Tigers 7-0, the Giants crushed the Cubs 12-3, the Blue Jays edged the Twins 9-8.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team yesterday drained 17 three-pointers in a 91-69 rout of Qatar, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games in Japan. The lopsided victory was largely powered by the team’s precision long-range shooting. Of the 17 three-pointers, seven came in the opening quarter, giving Taiwan an early 26-12 lead. Boosted by 40 percent shooting from long range, Taiwan also held an edge over Qatar in assists (26-13), committed fewer turnovers (6-14) and steals (9-3). Taiwan shooting guard Lin Ting-chien scored a game-high 21 points, including five three-pointers. Naturalized center Brandon Gilbeck added 12 points, nine rebounds and two steals. With a 2-1
Yu Zidi made history last year aged 12 when she became the youngest-ever medalist at the swimming world championships. Now a teenager, she headlines China’s bid for Asian Games domination and has Olympic glory in her sights. The 13-year-old school girl with a pixie hair cut stunned the sporting world last year with a series of eye-popping times. At the last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore she helped China reach the 4x200m women’s freestyle relay final. She did not swim in the final, but China came third, earning Yu a historic bronze for swimming in the heats. Yu just missed out on
Taiwan’s Chen Zhi-ray and Lin Yu-chieh yesterday won the men's doubles final at the Yonex-Sunrise Vietnam Open badminton tournament, quickly dispatching their Singaporean opponents in straight games. Chen and Lin defeated Singapore's Terry Hee and Howin Wong 21-14, 21-12 in 27 minutes at the Badminton World Federation Super 100 event held at the Nguyen Du Club in Ho Chi Minh City. It was the first time the duo had won a BWF Tour event since they paired up in 2024. Previously, 24-year-old Chen and 26-year-old Lin had claimed top spots in three lower-level tourneys, before notching a breakthrough second-place finish at the
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva would be unable to compete internationally after the International Skating Union (ISU) revoked her neutral athlete status, the sport’s governing body said on Thursday. Valieva was 15 when she became the center of a global controversy at the 2022 Olympics after a sample collected two months earlier tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine. The failed test emerged after she helped Russia win team gold, a result from which she was later disqualified, elevating the US to the top of the podium. Valieva, 20, returned to competition in January at the Russian Jumping Championships after completing a
RSS