Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is renowned for his game-changing ability on the mound at the plate.
Being able to be effective in both phases of the game is one thing though. Being perhaps the most dominant offensive player and the most dominant pitcher at the same time is another thing entirely.
Yet that’s the case Ohtani is making with two league-leading streaks, as reported by Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com.
With six scoreless innings on the mound Tuesday night, Ohtani reached 22.2 innings pitched without allowing a run, the longest such active streak in Major League Baseball.
At the plate, he also reached base three times, twice on walks and once on a single.
That makes 36 straight games reaching base safely. Again, that’s the longest active streak in the majors.
How Did Shohei Ohtani Do on Tuesday?
Streaks aside, Ohtani performed admirably Tuesday night.
In addition to allowing no runs, he gave up only one hit. He also struck out six batters against three walks.
And he did all that in a rain storm, very uncharacteristic weather for Dodger Stadium.
After the game, Ohtani told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson that the weather was indeed a factor.
“The mound was challenging with the weather, but it was still a solid experience for my first start, with so many left-handed hitters in the Guardians’ lineup, I let [catcher Will] Smith handle the pitch calling,” he said through a translator.
Much like Ohtani did to him, Smith deflected credit back to the superstar when he spoke with SNLA.
“I thought it was really good. He was mixing all his pitches effectively to retire batters. Six scoreless innings, right? It was a truly outstanding start,” he said.
How Did Shohei Ohtani Handle Hitting?
Ohtani was dealing on the mound, but he also performed admirably at the plate, where was 1-for-3 with a single, and he also walked twice.
Ohtani and other Dodgers stars have been off to a relatively slow start at the plate in 2026, but the Japanese superstar had a better excuse than most.
He had to quickly change gear when he was due up at the plate.
At one point, Ohtani appeared to briefly forget he was due to hit, heading to the bench before realizing he had to don his gear and and prepare to hit.
