Shohei Ohtani Has a Forgettable Outing at Coors Field
DENVER – Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani had a forgettable performance in his first start as a pitcher against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Ohtani left the game on Wednesday, in the 8-3 defeat, after allowing five earned runs and nine hits in four innings, in addition to batting in the fifth inning. In the fourth inning, Ohtani was hit on the right knee by a 93 mph pitch from Orlando Arcia of the Rockies, causing him to limp and gesture in pain. After a visit to the mound by manager Dave Roberts and the team’s medical staff, Ohtani remained in the game and got the last two outs of the inning, with the Dodgers trailing 5-0 at the time. The clean runs that Ohtani allowed equaled the most he had allowed since July 2022, and the nine hits allowed tied a career high. Ohtani remained in the game and received a walk in his at-bat in the fifth inning, but did not bat in the eighth. He was replaced by Alex Call, who struck out. This was Ohtani’s tenth season opener, after not pitching in the 2024 season while recovering from elbow surgery.Before Wednesday’s game, he had no decision and had an effectiveness of 3.47. This season, he hasn’t pitched more than 4 innings and a third or more than 80 pitches. Against the Rockies, who have the worst record in MLB, he threw 66 pitches, 49 of them for strikes.
