Shohei Ohtani turned in his best pitching start of the season on Wednesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
The two-way star set season-highs in innings pitched (five) and strikeouts (nine) en route to earning his first win on the mound with the Dodgers.
Ohtani’s only blemish was a solo home run that he surrendered to Noelvi Marte in the top of the third. After the inning, Ohtani walked back to the dugout with his arm around Dalton Rushing as a show of support for the Dodgers rookie catcher.
“Tonight was a little different than in the past with me and Sho,” Rushing said after the Dodgers’ 5-1 win. “Shohei was calling every pitch the first few innings and it just so happened I called one pitch.
“From then on out, he wanted me to call the game. We kind of trusted each other. I made one mistake on the night as far as pitch-calling, gave up a homer, but we learn from those things and move forward.
“We were very comfortable working with each other tonight.”
Ohtani had all of his pitches working against the Reds, including a curveball that he threw 23 times to keep hitters off balance.
“Yeah, I think just trying to be a little less predictable with the fastball,” Rushing said. “He figured out the curveball in the first inning, and it was working really well for him.
“He used it throughout his whole start. It was a big pitch for him tonight.”
Dalton Rushing understood Miguel Rojas intentional walk
Rushing added to the Dodgers’ lead with a two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning after Miguel Rojas was intentionally walked to load the bases. The rookie catcher understood the decision but still used it as motivation to provide the big hit.
“Every player is looking to deliver,” Rushing said. “It’s the only thing that’s on your mind and that’s all you can think about.
“Looking back at the game, it’s a baseball move. You walk the guy to get the left-on-left matchup. That’s kind of the way baseball is played, that’s what a manager is supposed to do.
“To say that you don’t take it a little personally as a player, that would be lying. That’s just kind of second nature. But that’s just a manager making the right move and taking the left-on-left matchup versus a righty.”
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