CincinnatiOn Wednesday night, during the fourth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the Cincinnati Reds, two-way star Shohei Ohtani departed the mound with a trainer.
After a conference on the mound, Ohtani left the game with a 2-0 score against Spencer Steer after throwing six consecutive balls, including two consecutive wild pitches.
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As the designated hitter, the 31-year-old continued to play. In the sixth inning against Reds starter Nick Martinez, he struck out looking.
Ohtani made his ninth mound appearance since he recovered from surgery on his right elbow following the 2023 season. He signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers and did not pitch at all the previous season, but he was a standout at DH, finishing with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases and earning his third MVP title.
With 38 home runs this season, Ohtani leads the National League.
Ohtani may begin to reconsider taking on the Reds on the mound. He last pitched for the Los Angeles Angels on August 23, 2023, against Cincinnati. His second Tommy John surgery resulted from a ruptured ligament in his elbow, which caused him to leave in the second inning.
Ohtani was supposed to throw four innings on Wednesday, the longest outing of his pitching comeback, according to the Dodgers’ schedule.
In more over three innings, he gave up two runs on five hits while throwing 51 pitches, 32 of which were for strikes. He walked two and struck out four.
Ohtani hit two wild pitches to Tyler Stephenson, who walked after Noelvi Marte singled to start the Reds’ fourth inning.
Anthony Banda took Ohtani’s place after he threw two balls to Steer. Banda walked Steer and allowed Will Benson to hit a sacrifice fly to knot the score at two all.
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