The Los Angeles Dodgers won a 1-0 game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night in an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel between Justin Wrobleski and Drew Rasmussen.
Wrobleski pitched six shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out five and walking none. He also earned his team-leading eighth win of the season while lowering his ERA to 2.72.
“Yeah, obviously, I feel great,” Wrobleski said after picking up the win. “Thanks, Shohei, for tonight. That was great. But yeah, it feels great to pitch well and pitch well for a team like this, and it’s been a lot of fun for me.”
The only run of the game came on a solo home run from Shohei Ohtani in the sixth inning against Rasmussen. The ball was crushed to center field, traveling 427 feet at nearly 107 mph for his 15th home run of the season.
His game-winning home run also came one day before his scheduled start on the mound against the Rays in the series finale, where he will try to get his 1.06 ERA back down after it rose from 0.74 in his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“I mean, you kind of just come to expect him to do whatever he does, like that’s just kind of him,” Wrobleski said. “But no, obviously, he’s the best player of all time, I think. And it’s just been really fun to watch, and I think I’m just super lucky and blessed to be able to be his teammate and watch him play. So, it’s been super cool.”
Overall, Ohtani is hitting .297 with a .966 on-base plus slugging with 15 home runs, 42 RBI and 51 runs scored as a hitter, while also posting a 1.06 ERA with 73 strikeouts across 67.2 innings on the mound entering his start on Wednesday.
Shohei Ohtani playing through knee issue
The Dodgers had a scare when Shohei Ohtani experienced left knee inflammation, which sidelined him for one game against the Chicago White Sox over the weekend. There was some minor concern that it would affect his scheduled start, even though they remained confident he would pitch.
On Tuesday, Roberts said the swelling had fully dissipated. However, he changed direction on Wednesday, saying the inflammation is still affecting Ohtani’s knee and it’s something they will continue to manage.
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