Alden GonzalezOct 29, 2025, 01:37 AM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
LOS ANGELES — After Shohei Ohtani mowed through the middle of the Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup in the top of the sixth Tuesday, Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior approached him in the dugout and asked how many innings he had left, conscious of the potential toll from the previous game. Ohtani answered affirmatively. “Three more innings,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recalled him saying, perhaps half-jokingly.
Two batters later, though, he was finished.
One night after setting a postseason record by reaching base nine times in an 18-inning marathon, Ohtani performed as a two-way player in Game 4 of the World Series and was, well, mortal, going hitless in the batter’s box and getting tagged with the loss on the mound.
Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter after a 6-2 loss that evened this best-of-seven series at two games apiece, said he was “able to get on the mound in pretty good condition.” He received intravenous fluid to address leg cramps moments after the Dodgers came away from a 6-hour, 39-minute Game 3 with a walk-off victory, got to bed by roughly 2 a.m. PT and received what he called “quality sleep.” But it didn’t translate into a show-stopping performance, which, given what he did in the pennant clincher — three home runs as a hitter, six scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts as a pitcher — has somehow become the expectation.
“Every time he steps up, I expect great things to happen,” Roberts said, “and maybe unfairly.”
Ohtani drew a walk to start the game, reaching base for the 11th consecutive time but struck out in his next two plate appearances and later grounded out. Through his first six innings as a pitcher, he struck out six batters and gave up only a two-run homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — on a sweeper that leaked out over the plate, which he called “a regrettable pitch.”
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When the seventh inning began, the Dodgers trailed by only a run and Ohtani had thrown 90 pitches. Three pitches later, after a single by Daulton Varsho and a 101.7-mph double by Ernie Clement, Roberts turned to his bullpen. The Blue Jays went on to score four runs with Anthony Banda and Blake Treinen on the mound.
“I wanted to go seven,” Ohtani said, “and it was regrettable that I wasn’t able to finish that inning.”
Ohtani’s first postseason as a starting pitcher is officially over now, ending with a 2-1 record, a 3.50 ERA and 25 strikeouts against five walks in 18 innings. If he pitches again, it would be out of the bullpen in Game 6 or a potential Game 7, something he told Japanese reporters he was willing to do.
Ohtani threw his fastball mostly in the 96 to 97 mph range but was able to reach for 98 and 99 mph when he needed to on two-strike counts. Rather than consistently try to throw into the triple digits, Ohtani seemed conscious about picking his spots. On offense, Roberts complimented Ohtani’s “intent” and attributed his lack of success to the quality of the pitches he saw, not his exertions from the night before. The leg cramps that manifested in Monday’s 11th inning did not appear to be an issue. Ohtani credited his catcher, Will Smith, for taking down all 18 innings on Monday night and then catching another nine Tuesday. Overall, he seemed grateful for an incredibly active 27-hour stretch.
“Although we did lose the game,” Ohtani said, “I thought I had a productive experience being able to experience this situation.”
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