{"id":696766,"date":"2026-04-01T07:46:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T07:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/696766\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T07:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T07:46:24","slug":"shohei-ohtani-throws-a-one-hit-gem-in-dodgers-win-over-guardians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/696766\/","title":{"rendered":"Shohei Ohtani throws a one-hit gem in Dodgers’ win over Guardians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The sprinkling of rain over Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night added a new element to what\u2019s already a familiar sight: Shohei Ohtani<\/a> walking off the mound and immediately strapping on the various guards and batting gloves he wears to hit.<\/p>\n

In the Dodgers\u2019 4-1 win<\/a> \u2014 as Ohtani held the Guardians to one hit through six scoreless innings in his 2026 pitching debut \u2014 it happened twice.<\/p>\n

The first inning was guaranteed. But after throwing a scoreless fifth, Ohtani again was due up to lead off the bottom half of the inning. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Ohtani\u2019s 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\u2019s skill set.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever get used to that,\u201d Max Muncy said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty special. It\u2019s really hard to put into words when you see it in person, what he\u2019s able to do. Really, my only thought is how good is that guy going to sleep tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the mid-inning scramble, don\u2019t get too attached just yet.<\/p>\n

Manager Dave Roberts is pondering whether to take measures to limit opportunities for the sequence, as the Dodgers manage Ohtani\u2019s two-way ability over the course of a full season for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard because I do think that that first at-bat is a tough one,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cCertainly when you\u2019re at home and you go from the mound, to the on-deck circle, to the batter\u2019s box. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s a throwaway, but it\u2019s hard, it\u2019s a quick transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers in the fourth inning Tuesday against the Guardians.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bolanos\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the batting order also only dictates that first at-bat. And there isn\u2019t an obvious alternative batting order.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you sort of talk about that, \u2018he doesn\u2019t perform when he\u2019s pitching,\u2019 then he goes out there and hits three homers in a game,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cHe\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohtani\u2019s offensive performance Tuesday wasn\u2019t as special as his Game 4 showing<\/a> in last year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been able to get on base and that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d Ohtani said through an interpreter. \u201cBut on pitches that I should be making impact, I\u2019m not quite able to do that to the extent that I should be able to. That\u2019s the part that I\u2019m not quite happy about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 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 Hern\u00e1ndez, whose line-drive single started an eighth-inning surge.<\/p>\n

Tuesday marked the first time this season the Dodgers<\/a> scored before their opponent, despite their 4-1 record. <\/p>\n

Ohtani\u2019s larger contribution was on the mound. <\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers during the second inning Tuesday against the Guardians at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year I felt good, but this year I do feel a lot more loose and easy pitching overall,\u201d Ohtani said. \u201cLooking back at today\u2019s outing specifically, that wasn\u2019t necessarily the case. So that\u2019s something I want to work on. But compared to last season I felt more loose and easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t much else to nit-pick. Ohtani retired the first seven batters he faced, finally breaking that streak with a pair of walks in the third inning.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t give up 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s never going to be satisfied,\u201d Roberts said with a smile. \u201cI think for him, there\u2019s always going to be something that he can improve on or get better at. And that\u2019s what fuels him. But it was a good outing. And honestly, offensively, he\u2019s taking walks, he\u2019s swinging at the right pitches, and those hits will start to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts isn\u2019t jumping to make any lineup changes yet. A self-proclaimed \u201cslow-mover,\u201d he wants to watch how it plays out over a \u201chandful\u201d of starts. <\/p>\n

So, during Ohtani\u2019s next pitching appearance at Dodger Stadium, be sure to sit back and also enjoy the sideshow.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sprinkling of rain over Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night added a new element to what\u2019s already a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":696767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[291512,74734,1582,276,2442,6803,203699,1910,62483,2961,224,5337,8332,291511,291509,117119,26804,4712,291510,2030],"class_list":["post-696766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-batting-glove","tag-batting-order","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-dodgers","tag-first-time","tag-full-season","tag-game","tag-guardians","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-mound","tag-one-hit-gem","tag-rain-tuesday","tag-rhys-hoskins","tag-roberts","tag-shohei-ohtani","tag-unique-record","tag-win"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116328345821992141","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}