Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani pitched through the sixth inning in his final start of the regular season Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Ohtani allowed no runs on five hits with eight strikeouts. The right-hander left the game with a 4-0 lead, but the Dodgers bullpen blew the lead. The Diamondbacks took the series opener with a walk-off 5-4 victory.
Nevertheless, Ohtani going six innings for the first time this season was an encouraging indication ahead of the postseason. The Dodgers two-way star revealed he spoke with manager Dave Roberts about going more than five frames.
“The end of the rehab progression at the beginning of the year was about more getting to the five-inning mark,” Ohtani said. “As the season went on and having conversations with Dave Roberts last night, I stated the desire of wanting to pitch a little longer and to help the team in any way, shape or form.”
Ohtani is expected to make his next start on the mound next Tuesday in the Wild Card Series. The right-hander is sporting a 2.87 ERA with 62 strikeouts across 47 innings of work this season.
The Dodgers two-way star made his pitching debut with LA in June, serving as an opener in his first appearance since August 2023. Since then, Ohtani has slowly built up with each start and appears to be in solid form heading into October.
“He’s built a really good foundation of five innings a bunch of times and pitch count,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. “We felt like if the opportunity presents itself then it would be good to get him into the sixth heading into the postseason.”
The bullpen’s struggles have put immense pressure on the Dodgers rotation to pitch deep into games. It’s hard to imagine LA surviving the postseason without a strong performance from its starters such as Ohtani.
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Photo Credit: Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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