Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday struck out 10 as the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the team’s 8-2 victory over the New York Mets on Jackie Robinson Day.
Ohtani’s 22 swing and misses against the Mets were a career high with the Dodgers. He struck out the side in the sixth inning on 14 pitches. The right-hander allowed one run and two hits in six innings.
“It was really good to watch him just focus on one thing,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Just channeling all that energy into pitching was helpful. The last couple outings I felt he was fighting himself a little bit at times, but tonight he was unusually good.”
Photo: AFP
It was the first time since May 28, 2021, with the Los Angeles Angels that Ohtani has not been in the batting lineup during a mound start.
“In between innings felt a little longer than normal. That was really the only difference,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I had a pretty productive time being able to spend time on the game-planning side of things.”
Ohtani is still sore from being struck on the back of his right shoulder by a pitch from the Mets’ David Peterson on Monday.
Photo: AFP
“If it weren’t for the hit by pitch, he would’ve been DHing and pitching tonight,” Roberts said before the game. “But I do think that just to be able to pitch and focus on that will be a benefit for the mind and the body, and hopefully, we’re just in a little moment of fatigue and we can get past it.”
Dalton Rushing replaced Ohtani as designated hitter, and blasted a grand slam in the eighth inning.
“I’m not getting used to it,” Rushing said, chuckling. “He told me to hit a homer for him. I guess it worked out in the end.”
Photo: AP
Asked if he would be a one-way player again, Ohtani smiled and said: “Yeah, totally. We have a really good DH hit today, so I’m very open to that.”
Before the game, the Dodgers and the Mets gathered around the center field statue of Robinson stealing home at Dodger Stadium to mark the 79th anniversary of the infielder breaking the sport’s color barrier, when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
All players, coaches and umpires across MLB wore his No. 42 in Wednesday’s games.
Roberts, one of two black managers in the majors, told the teams Robinson would be proud that they reflect his dream and vision of what equality and unity would look like.
“My ask is that we remember how we got here,” Roberts said.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza echoed the sentiment.
“A special day, especially for me as a Latino. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t because of him,” Mendoza said. “Talk about dealing with pressure at this level, imagine what he dealt with back in the day.”
Two of Robinson’s granddaughters joined the teams at Dodger Stadium, not far from Robinson’s adopted hometown of Pasadena.
He was a four-sport star at Pasadena Junior College before going on to the University of California, Los Angeles, where the Georgia native was better known for football than baseball.
Separately, the Minnesota Twins and MLB are investigating Jarren Duran’s allegation that a fan he pointed his middle finger at during a game on Tuesday had told the Boston Red Sox outfielder to kill himself.
Duran made the gesture as he returned to the dugout after a fifth-inning groundout in Boston’s 6-0 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night at Target Field.
Duran had discussed bouts with severe depression and a suicide attempt in a Netflix documentary series that debuted last year.
“I know the Twins are all over the case and trying to find out who he was, and hopefully they find the person,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, adding that if found “it’s probably the last big-league game that that person is going to attend.”
“We have Jarren’s back. Like I said last year, for him to open up, he saved lives,” Cora added. “And it’s not easy. It’s not easy because, like he said, we’re in the business of winning games, and he doesn’t want to be a distraction, and he’s not a distraction. He’s not. He’s just a player that plays for the Red Sox and has our full support.”
Duran on Wednesday played all nine innings in left field, going 0 for 5 with a run scored in Boston’s 9-5 victory.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the San Diego Padres defeated the Seattle Mariners 7-6, the New York Yankees pipped the Los Angeles Angels 5-4, the Arizona Diamondbacks surged past the Baltimore Orioles 8-5 in 10 innings, the Pittsburgh Pirates blanked the Washington Nationals 2-0, the St Louis Cardinals outplayed the Cleveland Guardians 5-3, the Cincinnati Reds toppled the San Francisco Giants 8-3, the Chicago Cubs dominated the Philadelphia Phillies 11-2, the Milwaukee Brewers downed the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1, the Detroit Tigers mauled the Kansas City Royals 2-1, the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 6-3, the Tampa Bay Rays overcame the Chicago White Sox 8-3, the Athletics survived the Texas Rangers 6-5 and the Houston Astros took out the Colorado Rockies 3-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
RSS