PITTSBURGH — Shohei Ohtani, blood on his pant leg, sweat on his forehead, trudged off the PNC Park mound wholly unsatisfied.
His frustration was warranted — or, at least, understandable. Ohtani had just been yanked, pulled mid-inning for the first time this season. Not since Bo Bichette went 442 to dead center in World Series Game 7 had Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts made that slow stroll to remove his $700 million man. Ohtani the Pitcher handed his boss the baseball, thanked the home plate umpire and hit the proverbial showers — but not the actual ones, of course, because Ohtani the Hitter was still on the clock.
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Such is life for the four-time MVP, who experienced quite an eventful few hours, even by his standards, on what was a disgustingly muggy Wednesday evening in Pennsylvania.
Ohtani, gunning for his first career Cy Young this season, threw 102 pitches across 6 2/3 innings. He also hit a late home run and had another taken away via robbery. With Ohtani throwing to catcher Dalton Rushing for the first time this season, there were a handful of critical missed opportunities for ABS challenges. Then the Dodgers blew a five-run lead in spectacular fashion, eventually losing 9-8.
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Statistically, it was the worst pitching outing of Ohtani’s season, with 3 earned, 6 hits and 3 walks on his ledger. He nearly escaped the proceedings relatively unscathed, but a two-out, two-run, seventh-inning double from Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe knocked Ohtani from the game. It was just the fourth time this season that a hitter swung at a 3-0 pitch with his team down at least five runs. As a result, Ohtani’s ERA skyrocketed from 0.74 to a still-minuscule 1.06.
“Going into that inning, the pitch count was pretty, relatively low,” Ohtani said afterward through interpreter Will Ireton. “So I don’t think [fatigue played a factor.] … It was just a mis-execution on that 3-0 pitch.”
In truth, Ohtani looked his usual self, blowing easy triple-digit heat by a frisky Pirates lineup for most of the night. He admitted he threw fewer splitters than he wanted to — probably related to the nagging, bleeding blister on his right middle finger — but he was able to quiet the Buccos regardless. Until the seventh, the only blemish was a solo moonshot by rookie Tyler Callihan, a jaw-dropping blast that cleared the stadium altogether. For Ohtani, there was nothing, despite the middling final line and bloody finger, to be legitimately concerned about.
“No issues with the blister,” he insisted. “I don’t think it’s been affecting my performance.”
But whenever Ohtani fails, falls short, is less than, it is remarkable in and of itself. That’s even more true considering the thin margins on which Ohtani’s Cy Young case will eventually rest.
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Because the Dodgers are deploying a six-man rotation, Ohtani will finish the season with a lower innings total and lesser counting stats than those of his Cy Young competition. Hurlers such as Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, Atlanta’s Chris Sale and Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski are all solid bets to flirt with or surpass the 200-inning mark.
Ohtani, now just one out shy of qualifying for MLB’s official leaderboards, will probably finish the regular season with 25 starts. At his current innings per start pace, that will put him right around 150 innings.
Such a gap is not unprecedented for a Cy Young winner; Corbin Burnes took home the hardware in 2021, despite having 46 1/3 fewer innings than runner-up Zack Wheeler. Still, it’s a daunting proposition, one that makes every Ohtani start and every Ohtani earned run all the more crucial in his quest for the only major trophy he has yet to win.
“He wants a Cy Young,” Rushing told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez before this season.
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Rushing also happened to be a major character Wednesday. The much-maligned backstop has been pushed into regular duty since every-day catcher Will Smith suffered a neck injury over the weekend. Smith was placed on the IL after Wednesday’s game. The Dodgers don’t expect it to be a lengthy stay, but even so, as a result, Rushing caught Ohtani for the first time all season.
“I shook a few times more than usual, but I think that’s normal, given that I haven’t really worked with him this year,” Ohtani said afterward. “It’s something that you just have to have a conversation here and there and be on the same page.”
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In the crucial seventh inning, there were a few borderline pitches that Rushing, who has been uneven with ABS this season, declined to challenge. Ohtani admitted postgame that while he typically leaves those decisions to the catcher, he wished that either he or Rushing had been more aggressive with challenges. Their passivity played a small role in Ohtani’s early-than-preferred departure and, in turn, the Dodgers’ shocking loss.
Surely, this was merely a hiccup amid Ohtani’s very real chance at Cy Young glory. But when the leeway is this small, every little misstep might matter in the end.
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