LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani threw a curveball into the proceedings. Twenty-three of them to be exact.
In his third attempt to hit the five innings pitched mark this season, Ohtani finally succeeded by leaning into his secondary pitches to strike out a season-high nine while also earning his first win from the mound in a Dodgers uniform.
The 5-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday completed a three-game sweep and boosted the Dodgers’ home winning streak to six games.
It also opened a two-game lead in the National League West after the second-place San Diego Padres fell to the Seattle Mariners, 4-3.
Ohtani took charge by also delivering the Dodgers’ first hit of the game: A single to lead off a four-run fourth inning. Kiké Hernandez and rookie Dalton Rushing each had two-run singles in the fourth and Michael Conforto crushed a home run to right in the eighth.
The mound, though, is where most of the focus was trained. Ohtani’s slow progression as a starter, in his return from 2023 Tommy John revision surgery, was supposed to reach five innings in an Aug. 13 start against the Angels. He lasted just 4⅓ innings on 80 pitches in that one.
He tried it again last week in Colorado but was hit in the leg by a comebacker and finished his outing at four innings and 66 pitches on a night when Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani lacked “his best stuff.”
Ohtani got back on track with a curveball he had thrown just 11 times this season before Wednesday. He got a swinging strikeout on the curve against Noelvi Marte in the first inning, then two more in the second against Gavin Lux and Matt McLain.
He was not exactly efficient with 87 total pitches, but his heavy curveball usage now gives opponents even more to think about. Ohtani ended up throwing seven types of pitches on the night, including his sweeper 16 times.
He leaned into his four-seam fastball 15 times, reaching 100 mph with it on four occasions.
When asked about his inability to finish five innings in his most recent two starts, Roberts hinted before the game that a varied arsenal was coming.
“In general, I think it’s figuring out where the secondaries are at,” Roberts said. “I don’t think there’s fatigue.”
The Dodgers actually trailed when Marte hit a solo home run off Ohtani in the third inning. The offense finally came around in the fourth when Ohtani’s single started a four-run inning that included five singles against Damien High product Nick Lodolo of the Reds.
With the bases loaded, Kiké Hernandez rolled a two-run single to center field. After a two-out walk to Miguel Rojas loaded the bases again, rookie Rushing hit his own ground ball two-run single to center.
When his day from the mound was complete, Ohtani had allowed one run on two hits with two walks. It was his first win as a pitcher since Aug. 9, 2023, against the San Francisco Giants, when he went six innings and threw 97 pitches.
Five Dodgers pitchers combined to strike out a season-high 19 batters, with Edgardo Hernandez and Blake Treinen each striking out three in one inning of work.
More to come on this story.
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