Shohei Ohtani returned to the mound Wednesday for the first time since ending a July 30 start early due to cramps.
All seems well with the National League MVP favorite.
Ohtani pitched four one-run innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. And he hit a two-run home run in the third that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-1 lead. But it wasn’t enough for a Dodgers win, as the Cardinals rallied for a 5-3 victory.
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Ohtani quickly quelled any concerns about the cramps from his previous start with a strong first inning. He needed just 10 pitches to get through the Cardinals’ side and reached 100 mph on the radar gun with a third-pitch strike to Alec Burleson that ended the inning.
Ohtani pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the second that featured two strikeouts and required just 11 pitches.
The third inning required more work from Ohtani and saw the Cardinals get on the scoreboard first. Jordan Walker reached on a leadoff infield pop-up that Miguel Rojas lost in the sun. Walker then stole second and reached third on a groundout. Brendan Donovan sent him home with a savvy, two-out bunt that landed for an RBI single and a 1-0 Cardinals lead.
The lead was short-lived.
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Alex Call led off the bottom of the third with a double for the Dodgers. Two batters later, Ohtani sent him home with a blast deep into the center-field stands off Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore.
The home run was the 39th of the season for Ohtani, which puts him one behind NL leader Kyle Schwarber and three behind MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh. It was also the 1,000th hit of Ohtani’s MLB career.
And Ohtani’s day on the mound wasn’t finished. He returned for the top of the fourth inning, in which he proceeded to strike out the side. Ohtani got each of Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn swinging on third-pitch breaking balls to maintain the 2-1 Dodgers lead.
The Dodgers took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, and Ohtani did not return to the mound for the fifth inning. Reliever Justin Wrobleski took over.
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Ohtani finished his day on the mound having pitched four innings and allowed two hits, zero walks and one earned run that was the result of a misplay in the field. He struck out eight and lowered his ERA to 2.37.
Ohtani’s abbreviated start was part of the continued plan to ramp him back up on the mound following his 2023 elbow surgery. The Dodgers bullpen couldn’t hold on for the win.
Cardinals rally against Dodgers bullpen
The Cardinals added a run in the sixth off reliever Justin Wrobleski to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2. In the eighth inning, St. Louis capitalized on an opportunity to retake the lead.
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Burleson and Winn got to first and second with one out via singles off Alex Vesia. Walker then delivered the game-tying RBI on a single to left-center field that scored Burleson.
Then disaster struck for the Dodgers. After a throw to third base failed to get Winn out, third baseman Alex Freeland attempted to throw Walker out at second. Instead, the ball ended up in right field, and Winn scored the go-ahead run on the throwing error for a 4-3 Cardinals lead.
The Cardinals added an insurance run in the ninth, and reliever Riley O’Brien pitched a scoreless bottom of the frame to secure the 5-3 win.
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The Dodgers got a standout game from Ohtani. But in the end, it was the Cardinals who came out on top.
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