Overview
- On Wednesday at Petco Park Ohtani led off with a home run and then threw five scoreless innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam when Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into a game-ending double play.
- The outing lowered Ohtani’s season ERA to 0.73 after eight starts and 49 innings, a run of results that has drawn early Cy Young comparisons even though he does not yet have qualifying innings.
- Ohtani said he “wasn’t great” after the game and manager Dave Roberts agreed the stuff wasn’t at peak level despite effective results and efficient sequencing.
- Los Angeles’s relievers continued an extended run of zeroes, giving the Dodgers the lowest bullpen ERA in the National League and helping preserve the 4-0 win that left them alone atop the NL West.
- The Padres kept a 29-20 record by riding strong pitching and a shutdown bullpen while their offense ranks near the bottom in average and on-base percentage, a balance that will shape how San Diego manages its lineup and late-game roles going forward.