Shohei Ohtani lowers ERA to 0.73

Shohei Ohtani cut his earned-run average to 0.73 after a five-inning scoreless start for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres on May 21, according to MLB and game coverage published Thursday. Ohtani also hit a leadoff home run in the same game, giving the Dodgers an early lead before working through five shutout innings in a 4-0 win at Petco Park. MLB player pages and other stat services reflected the updated ERA on Thursday. NBC Los Angeles reported that the mark was the lowest in the majors among pitchers with at least 25 innings of work. ### How did Ohtani get to 0.73? Wednesday's outing against San Diego was the immediate driver. Ohtani allowed three hits across five innings and did not give up a run, trimming his season ERA to 0.73 after the game, according to NBC Los Angeles and Baseball-Reference. (mlb.com) Fox Sports and MLB's Film Room both described the game as a two-way performance: Ohtani opened the night with a home run and then handled the Padres on the mound. The Dodgers won 4-0 in San Diego. ### Why was this start notable beyond the ERA? (nbclosangeles.com) NBC Los Angeles said May 21 was Ohtani's first game in four weeks in which he both pitched and hit. The report said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had kept Ohtani out of the batting order in his previous three mound starts, and Ohtani returned to both roles because the club had an off day Thursday. (foxsports.com) Ohtani told reporters through an interpreter that he had "a lot of uncertainty" entering the outing because the feel on the mound "wasn't great," even though the results were. Roberts said Ohtani wanted to "win that Cy Young" while also helping the Dodgers offensively. (nbclosangeles.com) ### What does the 0.73 figure represent? ERA is the standard measure of earned runs allowed per nine innings, and the 0.73 number is Ohtani's season mark after his latest start, as reflected in MLB stat feeds and game coverage on Thursday. NBC Los Angeles said that figure led the majors among pitchers with at least 25 innings. (nbclosangeles.com) Baseball-Reference's player page also summarized the same start, saying Ohtani "breezed through five shutout innings" against the Padres after hitting a leadoff homer. That synopsis matched the game accounts carried by Fox Sports and the Los Angeles Times. ### How does this fit into Ohtani's 2026 season? (mlb.com) MLB's player page lists Ohtani as a two-way player for Los Angeles, and Baseball-Reference's season summary shows he has continued to contribute as both a hitter and a pitcher in 2026. NBC Los Angeles said he hit his eighth homer of the season in the Padres game while his pitching line improved again. (baseball-reference.com) The same NBC report said Ohtani had been in an offensive slump earlier in the season before collecting 13 hits over his previous seven games. That report attributed the assessment to recent game results and comments from Roberts. ### What comes next on the schedule? (mlb.com) MLB's schedule page lists the Dodgers at the Milwaukee Brewers on May 22, with first pitch set for 7:40 p.m. ET. MLB's main scoreboard also shows Los Angeles entering that game at 31-19, with Milwaukee at 29-18. (mlb.com) (nbclosangeles.com)