Shohei Ohtani labored through his 10th start of the season and managed to complete just four innings with three strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. It was a second consecutive start the Los Angeles Dodgers set a goal for Ohtani to complete five innings.
He fell short last week in the form of 4.1 innings against the Los Angeles Angels. That outing was Ohtani’s first time he pitched against the Angels.
“I had a lot of good memories being on this team,” Ohtani answered through interpreter Will Ireton when asked about pitching at Angel Stadium as a visitor.
“It’s one of my favorite stadiums to play in, so it was a really important mark for me to be able to pitch on this mound again.”
Ohtani navigated another first on Wednesday as he hadn’t previously pitched at Coors Field in an official capacity. Though, he did throw one inning in the Rockies’ home ballpark as the starter for the American League in the 2021 MLB All-Star Game.
Ohtani retired the side in order in the first inning despite falling behind in the count 2-0 two two of three batters faced.
Jordan Beck’s leadoff single in the second inning was the Rockies’ first baserunner of the game. Beck was erased from the bases on a force out, but Ohtani allowed two more hits, including an RBI double that gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead. Orlando Arcia added a sacrifice fly.
Ohtani threw 23 pitches in the second inning due in part to struggling to put hitters away after getting two strikes. He was more effective in the third, retiring the side in order.
Ohtani gave up a double to Warming Bernabel in the fourth inning that scored a run on an error, but of greater concern for the Dodgers was a 93.7 mph comebacker hitting him in the right leg. Ohtani limped back to the mound and pointed to his right thigh area while being checked on by a Dodgers trainer.
He remained in the game and managed to get through the fourth inning, but that wound up being it. He threw 65 pitches and exited with the Dodgers trailing 5-0.
Ohtani’s 80 pitches against the Angels remains his season high in 10 starts this year.
Dodgers resting Shohei Ohtani
With the series finale at Coors Field an early afternoon game, the Dodgers made a proactive decision to not have Ohtani in the lineup.
It’s going to mark just his third game not playing this season, with the first two coming while Ohtani was on the paternity list for the birth of his daughter.
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!
