LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani’s reliance on his fastball caught up with him recently, making the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar intent on changing his pitch mix.
He had given up a combined nine runs and 14 hits in his two previous outings, a pair of Dodgers losses to the Los Angeles Angels, his former team, and the Colorado Rockies.
Making his 11th start as he returns from elbow surgery two years ago, Ohtani struck out a season-high nine over five innings Wednesday night in a 5-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds for his first win on the mound with the Dodgers.
“The plan going into this game was to throw more curveballs and splits regardless of the lineup,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
His previous pitching win came on Aug. 9, 2023, with the Angels against San Francisco.
Against the Reds, Ohtani (1-1) allowed one run and two hits while walking two on a season-high 87 pitches, 53 for strikes. At the plate, he was 1 for 5 with a run.
“Everything was working. He got in a groove,” rookie catcher Dalton Rushing said. “He figured out the curveball in the first inning and it was working really well for him. It was a big pitch.”
As they walked off the field together after the third inning, Ohtani put his arm around Rushing.
“Shohei’s calling every pitch the first few innings and then just so happened in the third I called one pitch and from then on out he wanted me to call the game,” Rushing said. “We kind of trusted each other. We were very comfortable working together.”
Instead of relying on fastballs and sweepers as he had earlier this season, Ohtani bedeviled the Reds with off-speed and secondary pitches before going to the fastball his last two innings.
“The great thing about Shohei is he can command, when he’s right, four or five pitches,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Today was a complete performance by Shohei.”
Ohtani didn’t pitch last season, his first with the Dodgers, while recovering from elbow surgery in September 2023. The team has carefully managed his workload since he returned to the mound.
“The No. 1 goal was to make sure my fastball and my velocity was where I want it to be,” Ohtani said. “As we’re progressing through this rehab in general, aside from the innings, I just really wanted to be able to incorporate other pitches.”
For the first time this season, Ohtani went the minimum five innings to qualify for a win. He’s expected to make his next start next Wednesday at Pittsburgh, again targeting five innings.
“His feel for the game, his pitches, is truly remarkable,” Roberts said. “The last few starts he was pretty predictable and so he was smart enough to kind of suss that out and get them off the scent.”
Ohtani retired 10 of his final 11 batters, including the last eight.
“He’s got everything,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “He’s good and he’s really tough on lefties.”
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