The Shohei Ohtani experience is back.
The reigning NL MVP put forth a vintage performance by blasting his 50th home run and throwing five no-hit innings Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Yet, also in vintage Ohtani fashion, his team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, fell for the second straight night 9-6 to the Phillies after the bullpen coughed up an early lead.
What Did Shohei Ohtani Do?
The Phillies have perhaps the best lineup in the National League — maybe second behind the Dodgers’ — even without Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto Tuesday night.
So the fact Ohtani could navigate the likes of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper while only serving up a first-inning walk to Harper showcases how sharp the right-hander was in his first start since Sept. 5.
He topped out at 101 mph on his fastball, while getting six swings and misses, including back-to-back on devastating curveballs on Harper’s strikeout in the fourth inning.
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They were obviously not getting many good swings off him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He was dominant.”
Yet, Ohtani also showed his prowess at the plate, legging out an infield single in his first at-bat — after sprinting right off the mound into the batter’s box.
But he led off the eighth inning by scalding a 1-0 cutter 430 feet into the Phillies bullpen for his 50th home run of the season — becoming the first player to post back-to-back 50 homer seasons since Alex Rodriguez in 2001-02.
According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Ohtani became the first player in MLB to record 50 home runs and 50 strikeouts — and the first to hit 50 home runs and have any strikeouts in a season since Babe Ruth in 1921.
Why Did The Dodgers Pull Ohtani?
Perhaps the more stunning fact was how swiftly the game got away from the Dodgers after Roberts made the call for Ohtani to not take the mound for the sixth inning.
Yet, Roberts had no regrets
“This was a plan we’ve all talked about and laid out,” Roberts said “I’m not going to go against what we did.
“He wasn’t going to go back out [for the sixth inning]. We’ve been very steadfast in every situation in terms of innings in terms of his usage.”
If ever there were a night to test the Dodgers plan with Ohtani it would’ve been Tuesday, since he had thrown just 68 pitches and only pitched from the stretch once. Plus, the Dodgers could have picked up a crucial game on the San Diego Padres — who lost 8-2 to the Mets in New York earlier in the night.
But Roberts held court for more than 10 minutes while explaining why he went away from Ohtani and to left-hander Justin Wrobleski in a 4-0 game. Wrobleski got just one out while giving up five runs on five hits — capped by Brandon Marsh’s three-run homer that made it 5-4.
Roberts then pulled Wrobleski — and received a chorus of boos from the Dodgers fans — for Edgardo Henriquez, who served up Max Kepler’s deep solo homer on his second batter faced.
“I’m not going to have a plan for five innings, and then he pitches well and say hey ‘now you’re going to go six innings,'” Roberts said “He’s too important, and if something does happen then that’s on me for changing [the plan]. We haven’t done that all year, so I’m not going to do that right now.
“Guys gotta do their jobs.”
The Dodgers fell to 5-8 in Ohtani’s starts, despite his 3.29 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 41 innings, mainly because of their shoddy bullpen. But Roberts defended his handling of the superstar.
“This is his first year off Tommy John,” Roberts said. “We’ve been very diligent in how we’ve managed him. I think because of that, we’re in a very good spot today.
“You could look at all his outings and said could I have pushed him an extra inning without the conversation? Maybe. But we’re in this spot today because we’ve been very diligent.”
Ohtani Hits 50th Home Run, Throws Five No-Hit Innings in Loss to Phillies