{"id":270477,"date":"2026-04-16T08:30:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/270477\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T08:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:30:27","slug":"dodgers-dont-need-shohei-ohtanis-bat-just-his-arm-in-rout-of-mets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/270477\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers don’t need Shohei Ohtani’s bat, just his arm, in rout of Mets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani<\/a> had navigated the Mets lineup without much trouble until the fifth inning. But he\u2019d also been holding back a little something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t go full throttle the whole time,\u201d Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after the Dodgers\u2019 8-2 victory<\/a> Wednesday. \u201cBut considering where the game was at that point, I felt like I just really had to go full throttle and make sure I\u2019m considering the game situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mets had just scored their first run of the game \u2014 ending Ohtani\u2019s streak of innings without an earned run at 32 \u2154, the longest of his career \u2014 and cut the Dodgers<\/a>\u2019 lead to one.<\/p>\n

So he unleashed a 100.2 mph fastball past Tommy Pham, and then 100.3 mph. Pham foul-tipped both and had some choice words with himself on the way back to the dugout.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a little extra gear when he needs it,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cI\u2019m sure he was frustrated about giving up a run, and then came back and really went after Pham.\u201d<\/p>\n

That strikeout was one of 10 Ohtani had in a performance that was dominant, regardless of the first mark on his previously spotless ERA.<\/p>\n

Holding the Mets to one run through six innings, Ohtani logged double-digit strikeouts in a regular-season start as a Dodger for the first time, matching his effort in Game 4 of the 2025 National League Championship Series<\/a> against the Brewers.<\/p>\n

\"Shohei <\/p>\n

Shohei Ohtani pitches against the New York Mets.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Roberts said he\u2019d been considering pulling Ohtani after the fifth inning started going sideways.<\/p>\n

Ohtani had faced just one over the minimum through the first four innings he pitched. Then in the fifth he issued two walks before giving up a run-scoring ground-rule double to Mets designated hitter MJ Melendez on a line drive into the right-field corner.<\/p>\n

Roberts changed his mind after Ohtani steamrolled Pham and got Francisco Lindor to line out to escape the inning without further damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust added a little more intensity after they scored a run,\u201d Ohtani said. \u201cBut overall it felt really nice and easy and loose throughout the whole outing. So I think that\u2019s the reason why I threw a little harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good thing Roberts sent Ohtani back out, too. He struck out the No. 2 through 4 hitters in the Mets\u2019 batting order, all on different pitches.<\/p>\n

The two-way phenom only had one job to worry about Wednesday.<\/p>\n

For the first time since 2021, he was not also in the lineup as a hitter while pitching.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it weren\u2019t for the hit by pitch [Monday], he would\u2019ve been DHing and pitching tonight,\u201d Roberts said before the game.<\/p>\n

Ohtani was hit in the back of his right shoulder by a 94-mph sinker on Monday. Though that didn\u2019t prevent him from serving as the designated hitter the first two games of the series, the Dodgers wanted to lighten the load Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust feeling what gives him the best chance to stay loose during the outing, feel good,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThere\u2019s still some soreness in there. When he\u2019s hitting, there\u2019s a component that he\u2019s in the cage getting ready to hit, and if we can take that off his plate and just focus on one thing tonight, we felt \u2014 training staff, pitching coaches, myself \u2014 we just felt it was the best thing for him. So, once I told him, he completely understood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dalton <\/p>\n

Dalton Rushing rounds the bases after an eighth inning grand slam.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

When asked what Ohtani\u2019s initial reaction had been, Roberts widened his eyes in an impressively accurate impression of one of Ohtani\u2019s patented facial expressions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little bit surprised,\u201d Ohtani said after the game. \u201cBut it made sense hearing what he had to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next time Ohtani takes the mound, he is expected to also hit. But Roberts didn\u2019t rule out again having Ohtani just pitch if a similar situation arises again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019m going to keep an eye on if it makes sense, but not just kind of do it proactively,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s \u2026 got to make sense to not have your best hitter not in the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

To account for Ohtani\u2019s absence in the batting order Wednesday, Kyle Tucker moved up from No. 2 to leadoff, and Dalton Rushing served as the DH.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers scored all eight runs via the long ball: a two-run shot from Hyeseong Kim, his first home run of the season, a solo blast from Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, Rushing\u2019s first career grand slam, and a solo homer from Tucker.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a really good DH hit today,\u201d Ohtani said of Rushing, who also hit a double.<\/p>\n

Dodgers closer Edwin D\u00edaz was available Wednesday, for the first time since Friday. But the Dodgers\u2019 five-run eighth inning eliminated the save situation. Instead, right-hander Kyle Hurt made his first major-league appearance since 2024. He gave up a run and had three strikeouts.<\/p>\n

Jackie Robinson Day<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 celebration of Jackie Robinson Day began with the annual reflection at the Jackie Robinson statue, with both teams in attendance. Speakers included Robinson\u2019s granddaughters Sonya Pankey Robinson and Ayo Robinson, Roberts, and Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe make the rather bold assertion that Jackie\u2019s breaking of the color barrier wasn\u2019t just a part of the Civil Rights movement,\u201d Kendrick said in his speech, \u201cit was the beginning of the Civil Rights movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

He broke down the timeline: Robinson debuted with the Dodgers in 1947, years before the Supreme Court ruled on Brown vs. the Board of Education (1954) or Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala. (1955). The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was still a student at Morehouse College.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t believe that one individual can indeed invoke change, you have to look no further than right here,\u201d Kendrick said, pointing to the statue of Robinson. \u201cBecause what he did was incredibly difficult, under some of the most harsh circumstances you could ever imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani had navigated the Mets lineup without much trouble until the fifth inning. But he\u2019d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[117555,117554,426,8268,423,10198,48,52,51,6131,47,50,49,44639,1024,21949,83763,424,422,23611,316],"class_list":["post-270477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-94-mph-sinker","tag-dh","tag-dodgers","tag-eye","tag-game","tag-hitter","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lineup","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-mets","tag-monday","tag-pitch","tag-right-shoulder","tag-roberts","tag-shohei-ohtani","tag-tonight","tag-wednesday"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}