LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit a go-ahead, two-run homer for his 1,000th career hit and struck out a season-high eight over four innings Wednesday in the longest mound outing yet this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar.
The right-hander made his eighth mound start of the season after not pitching in 2024 while recovering from elbow surgery. He closed his outing against the St. Louis Cardinals by striking out the side in the fourth and walked off wiping his face on a 90-degree (32 Celsius) day. Masyn Winn tossed his bat in frustration after going down swinging.
“I thought it was a big day for me personally getting to the fourth inning. That was really good in terms of building up,” Ohtani said through a translator.
Ohtani threw 54 pitches, 37 for strikes, and gave up