Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday returned to his full two-way form for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the results were formidable.
While pitching and hitting in the same game for the first time in four weeks, Ohtani homered on the first pitch of the night and then threw five innings of three-hit ball in Los Angeles’ 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.
After launching his eighth homer of the season and lowering his ERA to a minuscule 0.73, Ohtani took satisfaction in doing it all even on a night when he did not feel sharp on the mound.
Photo: AP
In a series-clinching victory over the Padres, Ohtani still did enough in both areas to carry the back-to-back MLB World Series champions yet again.
Ohtani said through his interpreter that he had “a lot of uncertainty coming into this outing, because the feel wasn’t great. And so the results were good, but as you saw, the process wasn’t that great... I have a pretty high standard in terms of performance, so it didn’t really match.”
“Like we all know, he wants to win that Cy Young, and he wants to help us win games and he wants to be a really productive offensive player,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “At this point in time, he’s doing all of the above.”
Photo: AP
In Detroit, Michigan, Angel Martinez’s triple in the 10th inning gave the Cleveland Guardians a 3-2 win over the Tigers.
Jose Ramirez supplied an RBI double in the inning as the Guardians won for the eighth time in nine games, including the first three games of the four-game series.
The Tigers’ Lee Hao-yu of Taiwan played at second and third base on the night.
Lee had one hit from four at-bats, hitting a bouncer to second base and reaching base on a throwing error by Travis Bazzana.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was:
‧ Cubs 0, Brewers 5
‧ Phillies 4, Reds 9
‧ Rays 5, Orioles 3
‧ Twins 4, Astros 1
‧ Cardinals 0, Pirates 7
‧ Rockies 4, Rangers 5
‧ Mariners 5, White Sox 4
‧ Marlins 1, Braves 9
‧ Nationals 8, Mets 4
‧ Royals 3, Red Sox 4
‧ Diamondbacks 6, Giants 3
‧ Yankees 1, Blue Jays 2
‧ Angels 5, Athletics 6 (10i)
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