Shohei Ohtani Achieves a New Milestone in His MLB Career
Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani added a new record to his outstanding career in Major League Baseball.
In Tuesday night’s victory against the Cincinnati Reds, with a score of 5-4, Ohtani struck out in his first four plate appearances, something he had never experienced in his eight MLB seasons.
This is the sixth time that the Japanese star and current National League MVP has recorded four strikeouts in a game, and the second time this season, the previous one was against San Diego on June 17.
In a game against the Seattle Mariners on July 17, 2021, playing for the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani failed in his first at-bat and was then struck out in his next four opportunities.
Nick Lodolo of Cincinnati became the thirteenth pitcher to strike out Ohtani three times in a single game. The Reds’ left-hander got Ohtani to chase a curveball outside the strike zone in the first and fifth innings, and struck him out with a 94.6 mph fastball in the third.
Later, Graham Ashcraft struck out Ohtani with an inside slider in the seventh inning.
Ohtani was one strike away from his first game with five strikeouts, before hitting a fly ball to right field with a 2-2 count in the ninth inning, with the game tied 4-4.
Ohtani came into the game with a nine-game hitting streak and leading the majors with 100 runs scored. In addition, he leads the National League in slugging (.620), total bases (254), OPS (1.001), and 38 home runs.
