Ohtani’s big night

Shohei Ohtani spent Wednesday night doing only one job, and he dominated it: six innings, 10 strikeouts and an 8-2 Dodgers win over the Mets on April 15. (mlb.com) He struck out the side in the sixth inning, finished with 95 pitches and became the first Dodgers starter to reach double-digit strikeouts in 2026. (mlb.com) The Dodgers kept Ohtani out of the batting lineup because he was still sore after taking a pitch off the back of his right shoulder on Monday. It was the first time he pitched without hitting in a Major League game since May 28, 2021. (espn.com) That one-task workload changed the rhythm of his night. Ohtani said he could not go “full throttle” the whole game, but after the Mets scored in the fifth, he reached 100.4 miles per hour and closed the inning with his hardest pitches of the season. (espn.com) The outing also ended one streak and preserved another. Ohtani allowed his first earned run in 32 2/3 innings dating to August 27, but his Major League Baseball-best 48-game on-base streak stayed alive because he never came to the plate. (mlb.com) Three starts into his 2026 pitching season, Ohtani’s earned run average fell to 0.50, and he generated 22 swings and misses, his highest total in a Dodgers game. ESPN reported that 13 of those misses came on his fastball, a career high. (espn.com) The game fit a larger Dodgers start that has been lopsided. Los Angeles improved to 14-4, completed a three-game sweep and moved to 9-0 against National League opponents this season, while the Mets lost their seventh straight and were outscored 14-4 in the series. (espn.com) Ohtani is 31 and in his ninth Major League season, still listed by Baseball-Reference as both a designated hitter and a pitcher. Nights like this are the reason his schedule keeps bending around both roles, even when the Dodgers temporarily split them apart. (baseball-reference.com) For one night, the Dodgers asked Ohtani to skip the sprint from mound to batter’s box. He answered with his fastest pitch of the year and his first 10-strikeout game of the season. (mlb.com)