Two days after he was hit by a fastball in the right shoulder, Shohei Ohtani will test any residual soreness when he takes the mound against the visiting New York Mets on Wednesday night.
Ohtani (1-0, 0.00 ERA), a right-handed pitcher, will make his third start of the season and first in a week after he gave up an unearned run on four hits over six innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in a no-decision.
Ohtani’s two strikeouts were his lowest in an outing of at least four innings in his MLB career. The Dodgers ended up losing 4-3 for their only loss on a six-game road trip.
“For players, we usually feel fatigue at the end of the road trip,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I’m not sure if that was the main cause (for a low strikeout total), but I want to make sure that I’m addressing, if any, some mechanical changes.”
On Monday against the Mets, while serving as the Dodgers’ designated hitter, Ohtani was hit on the back of the shoulder by a 94-mph sinker from left-hander David Peterson.
Ohtani remained in the game, with manager Dave Roberts saying afterward that he might have been concerned if Ohtani had to pitch Tuesday but that a bruise would not be an issue.
Ohtani will pitch against the Mets for the first time in his career. New York has lost seven straight games.
In consecutive Dodgers victories over the Mets this week, Ohtani was handed a blueprint for how to handle the New York lineup. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto each pitched into the eighth inning as Los Angeles won for the ninth time in 11 games.
The Mets will counter Wednesday with right-hander Clay Holmes (2-1,1.50 ERA), who has given up one total run over his past two starts (12 1/3 innings) but is just 1-1 to show for it. He took the loss in a 4-0 home defeat against the Athletics on Friday when he gave up one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Holmes’ outing was cut short because of left hamstring tightness, but he threw his regular between-start bullpen session on Monday.
“There was just kind of a weird feeling and some unsureness about what was going on,” Holmes said. “I think (we) just made the smart decision to not make it worse.”
In eight career appearances (one start) against the Dodgers, Holmes is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA. The start came in 2018 when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
With the offense in a funk, and the team on a losing streak, the Mets will need Holmes to be at his best. New York has just one run over the past three games, and it came on Francisco Lindor’s leadoff home run Tuesday. The Dodgers then squeezed out a 2-1 victory.
“The urgency level is really high,” Lindor said afterward. “I don’t think (anybody) here is desperate, but we understand we have to win. It’s a must-win. … Everybody here has a sense of urgency. We’re all trying to win. It’s just a matter of time. We have to get it done. Everyone understands the task is winning.”
It was not only Lindor’s first home run of the season, it was his first RBI. He has scored 11 times.
New York outfielder Jared Young was a late lineup scratch Tuesday because of left knee discomfort.
–Field Level Media
