Shohei Ohtani made his fifth pitching start of the season but it was the second time he did not also hit as the Los Angeles Dodgers look to manage his overall workload in 2026.
The team could have used Ohtani’s bat, as they had their three-game winning streak snapped in a 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins.
That makes Wednesday’s game, which is a 12:10 p.m. start at Dodger Stadium, a rubber match to conclude the homestand. Ohtani is expected to be back in the Dodgers lineup at designated hitter.
Marlins 2, Dodgers 1: key takeaways
Shohei Ohtani’s pitching start
Ohtani started on five days’ of rest and held the Marlins to just two runs (one earned) over six innings. He threw 104 pitches, which were his most with the Dodgers.
Similar to what was seen from Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the series opener, Ohtani wasn’t at his sharpest against the Marlins. A hit by pitch to start the second inning was compounded when Ohtani threw wide of the base as Agustín Ramírez attempted a steal.
That left Ramírez at third base with nobody out, and he scored on Owen Cassie’s sacrifice fly. Kyle Stowers’ RBI single extended the Marlins’ lead to 2-0 in the fifth inning and they threatened for more but Ohtani left the bases loaded by striking out Ramírez.
Ohtani finished with nine strikeouts, one off from tying his season high. His 0.60 ERA is the fifth-lowest by a Dodgers pitcher through his first five starts in a season since earned run became an official stat in the National League in 1912.
Ahead of him are Fernando Valenzuela (0.20 ERA in 1981, 0.21 ERA in 1985), Don Sutton (0.42 ERA in 1972) and Jesse Petty (0.57 ERA in 1926).
Dodgers’ comeback bid falls short
The Dodgers had an early opportunity against Janson Junk as they loaded the bases in the first inning with only one out. But he kept the game scoreless by retiring Max Muncy and Andy Pages.
Junk only allowed two more hits after that point and the Dodgers didn’t have another baserunner reach scoring position as he got through six innings on only 76 pitches. It was his first start since July 12, 2025, that the right-hander pitched at least six scoreless innings.
L.A. broke through in the eighth on an RBI single from Will Smith but that was all they managed to get.
Tuesday’s game was the fourth time this season the Dodgers were held without a run over six innings, and they’ve lost all of them.
Dodgers walkup songs
In honor of Women’s Night at Dodger Stadium, player wives and girlfriends selected Dodgers walkup songs for the game. Olivia Dean was a popular artist, and Freddie Freeman still had a Latin theme as his wife Chelsea chose “Bichota” by Karol G.
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