As the Los Angeles Dodgers began their road trip at the beginning of last week it was with Dustin May, Emmet Sheehan and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up to start in the weekend series against the San Francisco Giants.
That was going to amount to Shohei Ohtani’s last time pitching before the All-Star break coming in his start against the Houston Astros on July 5. However, the Dodgers wound up adjusting their pitching plans to have Ohtani start Saturday and Sheehan pitch in a bulk role out of the bullpen.
Ohtani’s fifth start of the season came with the Dodgers in the midst of a season-worst seven-game losing streak. He struck out the side in the first inning and proceeded to hold the Giants scoreless over a season-high three innings.
Following the Dodgers’ 2-1 win, manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani’s strong first inning and overall pitching performance were key to the team snapping their losing streak, as seen on SportsNet LA
“It does. Especially when it’s a team that is kind of chasing us, playing good baseball, to come out there and punch out the side, it was big. It does set the tone. The starting pitcher sets the tone each night.”
Ohtani’s dominant first inning gave him six consecutive strikeouts dating back to his last start. Striking out the side in his final inning against the Astros represented a first for Ohtani in his Dodgers pitching career thus far.
Overall in five starts this season, Ohtani has allowed just one run across nine innings (1.00 ERA) and collected 10 strikeouts while walking just two.
Shohei Ohtani ‘edgy’ as pitcher
Ohtani has developed a friendly reputation and persona, but Roberts has noticed a shift in demeanor on days he pitches. Roberts reiterated on Saturday that the 31-year-old becomes “a little bit more edgy as a pitcher,” which the team in turn feeds off of.
The description and the influence Roberts believes Ohtani has on the Dodgers is similar to that of Clayton Kershaw, both in the latter stages of his career and especially several seasons ago.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
