Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to start on the mound and hit leadoff again Wednesday.
It is appointment viewing.
Ohtani is seeking an unprecedented three-peat when the Los Angeles Dodgers meet the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second contest of a four-game set in Phoenix after the Dodgers evened the series with a 6-5 win on Tuesday.
He became the first player in major league history to hit a leadoff homer as the starting pitcher in a regular-season game in a 4-0 victory at San Diego on May 20. He hit the first pitch of the game for a 405-foot homer.
Ohtani did it again the last time out, driving a 424-foot homer on a third pitch of the home half of the first inning in the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory over Colorado.
“When you have the greatest player of all time playing this game on your team, and he’s like he is right now, it’s fun to watch,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
“When he’s on base, when he’s feeling good, it just kind of trickles into everybody else. He’s the greatest player there is. When the greatest player is going well, usually good things happen.”
According to MLB.com, only four players in the Modern Era (since 1900) have homered in three straight starts as a pitcher — Wes Ferrell (1933), Bob Lemon (1949), Don Drysdale (1958) and Ken Brett (1973). Brett did it in four straight.
Ohtani doubled, tripled, drove in two runs and scored two on Tuesday, and has reached base in 18 consecutive games. He is hitting .420 during that span with seven doubles, four homers, 17 RBIs and 10 multi-hit games.
“I think he’s locked in on some things mechanically,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think he’s as fresh as he’s been in awhile. His intent to use the big part of the field has helped. I think all of that has led to this nice run.”
Ohtani’s two-way game continues to shine as the 31-year-old works toward a potential fifth MVP award after winning two with the Dodgers (2024-25) and two with the Los Angeles Angels (2021, 2023).
The right-hander (5-2, 0.82 ERA) has the lowest ERA in the majors but is six innings short of the qualifying minimum, entering with 55 innings.
His ERA is the lowest for a Dodgers starter in his first nine starts of a season, and he is the third pitcher since 1920 to give up five earned runs or less in no fewer than 55 innings. Jacob deGrom was the last to do that, with the New York Mets in 2021.
Ohtani does not have a decision in two career starts against the Diamondbacks, although he pitched six scoreless innings against them in a no-decision last Sept. 23.
Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen (3-4, 5.16) has yet to find the form that defined him as the team’s No. 1 starter from 2022-24, when he was 43-19 with a 3.20 ERA in 93 starts and finished in the top five in the National League Cy Young voting in 2022 and 2023.
He has made two quality starts in 12 appearances this season. Gallen has moved away from his fastball and is using an off-speed sweeper/slider/changeup mix about 56% of the time. The changeup has been his most reliable pitch.
Gallen is 2-6 with 4.13 ERA in 16 regular-season starts against the Dodgers, and he gave up four runs in four-plus innings of the 8-2 loss to them in the season opener.
Mookie Betts is 8-for-31 with a homer against him. Will Smith is 7-for-27 and Freeman has two homers.
–Field Level Media
