LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Shohei Ohtani pitched a hitless inning in his second appearance on the mound for the Dodgers, striking out the final two batters he faced, while as a hitter homered and drove in five runs in a 13-7 victory over the Washington Nationals Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
After allowing singles to the first two batters he faced and a run in one inning in a 6-3 victory over the San Diego Padres Monday in his first pitching appearance with the Dodgers, Ohtani induced Washington leadoff hitter CJ Abrams to ground his first pitch Sunday to first baseman Freddie Freeman.
The next batter, James Wood, reached on an error by shortstop Mookie Betts.
Ohtani then struck out Luis Garcia Jr. on a 2-2 sweeper and Nathaniel Lowe on a 2-2 cutter. The strikeouts were Ohtani’s first as a Dodger.
Ben Casparius replaced Ohtani as the Dodgers’ pitcher beginning the second inning but remained in the game as their designated hitter.
“I thought he was considerably better today as far as the stuff, the life of the fastball, the command of his pitches,” Dodger manager Dave Roberts said.
Ohtani said through an interpreter that he was “able to relax much better compared to my last outing.”
Monday’s pitching appearance was Ohtani’s first since Aug. 23, 2023 when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament while playing for the Angels.
Ohtani underwent a procedure to repair the ligament in September 2023, his second major surgery on his right elbow.
Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1, 2018, to repair a torn ligament in the elbow. He did not pitch again until July 26, 2020, the first of two pitching appearances in the coronavirus-delayed 2020 season.
Ohtani struck out in his first two at-bats Sunday then walked on his third plate appearance and scored on Max Muncy’s grand slam. Ohtani hit a three- run triple and later scored the next time he was up. On his final at-bat, Ohtani hit a 1-0 four-seam fastball 383 feet over the left-centerfield fence for his 26th home run of the season, the third-most in Major League Baseball behind Cal Raleigh (31) of the Seattle Mariners and Aaron Judge (27) of the New York Yankees.
Ohtani had two hits in his last 22 at-bats with 12 strikeouts before the triple.
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