Shohei Ohtani has become the face of the Los Angeles Dodgers since joining the team last season. But before there was Ohtani, there was National League Most Valuable Player, Clayton Kershaw. The two-way player said he has learned a lot from watching the longtime Dodgers veteran. Ohtani started pitching again this season after a series of surgeries kept him off the mound for all of 2024.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1, on Wednesday night behind Shohei Ohtani's most strikeouts in a game this season (9), and most innings pitched as a Dodger (5). LA improved to 77-57 on the year as they swept the Reds. In other news, Freddie Freeman was absent for the eventual victory as he is dealing with a stinger in his neck/shoulder area. The injury kept him out on Wednesday, but isn't expected to be a long-term issue.
As mentioned, Shohei Ohtani was on the bump for the Dodgers, and his very first pitch was slashed for a single in the 1st. However, he rebounded with a pair of strikeouts to help him prevent any trouble. The 2nd was more of a labor, as he walked back-to-back batters with one out and uncorked two wild pitches, but struck out three batters to help him escape the jam.
Ohtani got hit on his right knee by a 93 mph line drive off the bat of Colorado's Orlando Arcia in the fourth, causing him to limp and grimace in pain. After a mound visit from manager Dave Roberts and team medical personnel, Ohtani stayed in the game and got the last two outs of the inning, with the Dodgers trailing 5-0 at the time.
Blake Snell delivered a dominant performance against the Toronto Blue Jays, achieving a season-high 10 strikeouts in five scoreless innings, helping secure a 9-1 win for the Dodgers.
