LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani stuck to the pitch and did his part, turning in another six-inning start with minimal damage. But the Dodgers couldn’t find much offense to support it in their 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani was pitching on five days’ rest with any length for the first time since 2023, when 15 of his 23 starts that season with the Angels came on five days’ rest. However, don’t expect there to be many such starts this year.
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“I think it could happen, he’s certainly open to it. But in this particular situation, given what Tyler (Glasnow) did and how he developed, it could change next time,” manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday’s game. “I’m not going to say it’s the last time (throwing on five days’ rest), but I don’t think it’s going to be common.”
All told, it was an impressive start for Ohtani with nine strikeouts, although he also tied his season high with three walks in his six innings. He allowed two runs, one of which was earned, matching his totals from his first four starts combined. Ohtani’s 104 pitches were his most in a start with the Dodgers, four more than Game 4 of last year’s National League Championship Series.
Ohtani Effectiveness globeup to 0.60, which once again leads the National League, another one-day stop at the top of the standings, as it has exactly 30 innings in 30 team games as of Tuesday night. Ohtani has led the National League in ERA after his five starts.
Dodgers’ lowest ERA through April
Fernando Valenzuela (1981) 0.20
Fernando Valenzuela (1984) 0.21
Shohei Ohtani (2026) 0.60
*in the live ball era (since 1920), minimum 5 starts, according to Baseball Reference
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Three missed throws produced the Marlins’ first run against Ohtani in the second inning. He hit Agustín Ramírez with a pitch, then had Ramírez dead on a stolen base attempt, but threw the ball to center field, putting the Marlins catcher on third base with no out. After a strikeout, Ramírez popped out to Andy Pages, whose throw went down the third base line and hit Ramírez as he scored.
That first run was undeserved, but Ohtani allowed a cattle He ran in the fifth, a frame in which he allowed two walks and two singles. It could have been worse, with the Marlins bases loaded with two outs, but Ohtani struck out Ramírez to extinguish that threat.
Any signs of fatigue dissipated when Ohtani worked around a single with three more strikeouts in the sixth, giving him nine for the night.
On a typical night, the Dodgers probably win these types of starts two-thirds of the time (they’re 12-5, with a .706 winning percentage when a pitcher goes at least six innings and doesn’t allow more than two runs this season). But on Tuesday, the offense failed to score in six innings against Janson Junk, who allowed only three singles and a walk.
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Los Angeles didn’t score until three singles with one out in the eighth inning, with Will Smith driving in Dalton Rushing to get within one.
Andy Pages reached on an infield single with one out in the ninth, but was stranded by Tyler Phillips, who allowed the winning hit the night before.
The Dodgers are trying to find ways, whenever possible, to give Ohtani additional rest, which is why he didn’t also serve as a designated hitter against the Marlins. Choosing your spots for that break will depend on how Ohtani feels.
“I think his goal is to make every (pitcher’s) start. So with that, there has to be some commitment and some opening to read and react to,” Roberts said. “I think we’re doing a good job so far and he’s open to that.”
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Tuesday was Day 12 of 13 consecutive game days for the Dodgers, and Ohtani was the only position player to start all 11 of the previous games.
“I think the 13 in a row has been exhausting for everyone. And also considering everything Shohei goes through on a daily basis, knowing that he’ll be back in the lineup tomorrow,” Roberts said. “I think this is an opportunity to protect himself a little bit, play both sides, so have a guy who is swinging a good bat in Dalton to fill in for one night, to give Shohei the best opportunity to pitch well and not take on both duties, then hit tomorrow and have a day off. Hopefully this shorthand will give him a reset, after the day off.”
Maybe Ohtani’s bat will help the Dodgers find some offense late in the series.
Tuesday details
home runs: none
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WP-Janson Junk (2-2): 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
LP — Shohei Ohtani (2-1): 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
SV-Tyler Phillips (2): 1 IP, 1 hit
Next
There’s one more day left at home, with Tyler Glasnow looking for the series win on Wednesday afternoon (12:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara.