MLB – Ohtani puts on a pitching clinic and leads his team to a perfect series

Ohtani skips the bat and pounds the Mets from the mound in MLB

For once, Shohei Ohtani got a breather between innings. No mad dash back to the on-deck circle to hit. On Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, the Japanese star did something he had not done since 2021: he played only as a pitcher. After taking a blow to his right shoulder from a pitch on Monday, the California staff decided to keep him out of the lineup and play it safe. The result? The alien took it out on the mound, steering his team to a comfortable 8-2 win that completed a clean sweep of the Mets in the series.

If anyone was worried about his shoulder, Ohtani shut that down quickly. Over six innings of work, the ace punched out 10 batters, his best mark of the season, and gave up just one run. Even more eye-catching, he hit 100 mph or better four times, topping out at 100.4 mph to finish off Francisco Lindor. Even though his wild run without allowing an earned run ended at just over 32 innings, he still moved deeper into the record books. Alongside the legendary Babe Ruth, he is now the only player since 1913 to pair a 30-plus-game hitting streak with another run of 30 innings without giving up a single earned run.

A masterstroke with Dalton Rushing

Focusing fully on his pitching clearly did him good. “The time on the bench felt a little longer than usual, that was the only real difference I noticed,” he said through his interpreter. When things got a bit hairy in the fifth inning, Ohtani simply cranked it up to get out of trouble. And to top it off, he dropped in a slow-motion curveball at just 71.5 mph to wipe out Brett Baty. A perfect contrast to his usual gas.

Manager Dave Roberts was loving it from the dugout. He felt his man was managing his energy far better by locking in on one job. And the gamble paid off in full, with his replacement as designated hitter, Dalton Rushing, smashing a grand slam to light up the scoreboard. So, will Ohtani be sat down for the bat again in future starts? “The guy loves hitting,” Roberts said at once. “It’s good to know we’ve got another option if we need it, but I’m not going to bench him for no reason if my eyes tell me he’s feeling great.”

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