The sprinkling of rain Tuesday added a new element to what’s becoming a familiar sight at Dodger Stadium: Shohei Ohtani walking off the mound and immediately strapping on the various guards and batting gloves he wears to hit.
In the Dodgers’ 4-1 win on Tuesday — as Ohtani held the Guardians to one hit through six scoreless innings in his 2026 pitching debut — it happened twice.
The first inning was guaranteed. But after throwing a scoreless fifth, Ohtani again was due up to lead off the bottom half of the frame.
He appeared to realize just that as he reached the far end of the dugout. Ohtani pivoted and jogged to the opposite entrance, where he handed off his hat and glove to start the well-practiced routine.
Ohtani’s four MVP awards and list of unique records paint a picture of an otherworldly player. But something about the benign process of swapping equipment on the warning track as he goes from one demanding job to another captures the absurdity of Ohtani’s skill set.
Roberts is pondering whether to take measures to limit opportunities for the sequence, as the Dodgers manage Ohtani’s two-way ability over the course of a full season for the first time.
“It’s hard because I do think that that first at-bat is a tough one,” Roberts said. “Certainly when you’re at home and you go from the mound, to the on-deck circle, to the batter’s box. I’m not saying it’s a throwaway, but it’s hard, it’s a quick transition.”
On the other hand, the batting order also only dictates that first at-bat. And there isn’t an obvious alternative batting order.
“When you sort of talk about that, ‘he doesn’t perform when he’s pitching,’ then he goes out there and hits three homers in a game,” Roberts said. “He’s special.”
Ohtani’s offensive performance Tuesday wasn’t as special as his Game 4 showing in last year’s National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers. But the leadoff hitter walked twice, in the third and fifth innings, and singled through the right side of the infield in the seventh.
The Dodgers’ heroes on offense were Andy Pages, who drove in two runs, including the first of the game; Max Muncy, who launched a solo homer in the sixth; and Teoscar Hernández, whose line-drive single started an eighth-inning surge.
Tuesday marked the first time this season the Dodgers scored before their opponent, despite their 4-1 record.
Ohtani’s larger contribution was on the mound. He retired the first seven batters he faced, finally breaking that streak with a pair of walks in the third inning.
He didn’t allow a hit until two outs into the fourth. A soft line drive off the bat of Rhys Hoskins fell inside the right-field line for a double.
Ohtani only let two more Guardians batters reach base. In the fifth inning, he yanked a fastball and hit Angel Martinez in the back knee. Then in the sixth, with that steady light rain seeping into the dirt, Ohtani walked Kyle Manzardo on four pitches.
Roberts then called time and asked for the mound to be fixed. Ohtani scraped off the bottom of his cleats and struck out Hoskins for the final out of a dominant start.
“I think he’s already proven that he’s the best player, you can argue, that’s ever played the game — best baseball player in totality,” Roberts said. “But … when he’s pitching, he sees himself solely as a pitcher, and he wants to be the best pitcher.”
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