Shohei Ohtani did something only Shohei Ohtani can do. In Tuesday night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers' two-way superstar pitched five no-hit innings and crushed a 430-foot solo home run -- his 50th of the season -- in LA's 9-6 loss.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Ohtani after those five innings and just 68 pitches due to their strict plan for the right-hander who didn't pitch all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Ohtani has been limited to no more than five innings in a start since returning to the mound on June 16.
With Ohtani no longer on the mound, the Phillies took advantage of a porous Dodgers bullpen. Lefty reliever Justin Wrobleski gave up five runs in one-third of an inning and Philadelphia scored one more off Edgardo Hernandez in a six-run sixth.
After the Dodgers tied it with two runs in the eighth on Ohtani's homer and Alex Call's sacrifice fly, the Phillies put it away in the ninth when backup catcher Rafael Marchan -- starting for J.T. Realmuto -- hit the game-winning three-run bomb off Blake Treinen.
Before being pulled, Ohtani was throwing 100 with ease, putting Phillies hitters away with his four-seam fastball and nearly unhittable curveball. He struck out five and allowed just one walk.
Despite not allowing a hit, Roberts told reporters after the game he was not inclined to have Ohtani keep pitching.
"Well, he wasn't gonna go back out. We've been very steadfast in every situation as far as inning for his usage -- from one inning to two innings to three to four to five. We haven't deviated from that," said Roberts, via Los Angeles Times Dodgers reporter Jack Harris. "So I was trying to get his pulse for going forward, where he's at, continuing to go to the sixth inning. And he says, 'Feel OK.' So that was good."
Roberts said he would not deviate from their usage with Ohtani because they have not done that all year and that he's "too important" to put him in a situation he hasn't experienced this season.
"I would've loved to have had him go out there. If the conversation was, if he's efficient, he can go to the sixth inning, that's a different conversation. But it was a hard five innings," noted Roberts. "That's just the way it goes, and guys gotta do their jobs."
However, if they keep Ohtani on a pitching leash once the playoffs start, the Dodgers will be in serious trouble. In 13 starts this season, he has a 3.29 ERA, striking out 54 across 41 innings while allowing 15 earned runs. In his last three starts, only one earned run has crossed the plate in 13 2/3 innings.
Ohtani is one of the best pitchers on an injury-laden staff. While Yoshinobu Yamamoto has had a Cy Young-caliber season with a 2.66 ERA and 187 strikeouts, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and Clayton Kershaw have all spent significant time on the IL. On top of that, it's unclear what role rookie Roki Sasaki will have come October as he's been rehabbing a calf injury.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman indicated to reporters that they might not pitch Ohtani beyond five innings in the postseason.
"I think, right now, it's about getting through these next two starts with him, and getting a feel of how he is recovering," Friedman explained to Harris. "I don't know if we would push it more, because no one is taking on more than [he is with the] pitching, and also hitting and running the bases. So just trying to be cognizant of that. But we haven't gotten there yet."
If they don't let Ohtani pitch to his potential this postseason, it's going to be a very quick exit, especially with the incredibly mediocre bullpen they have. LA's relievers rank 20th in bullpen ERA at 4.30 while allowing the sixth-most earned runs with 293.
Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, the Dodgers' two big free-agent acquisitions, have ERAs of 4.82 and 5.18, respectively, and have blown 11 combined saves. Treinen, who had an ERA under 1.99 the previous three years, is sporting a 4.70 ERA and has blown two saves.
Even though they were able to patch together a pitching staff with duct-tape last year and win the World Series, it won't happen again. It would behoove the Dodgers to let Ohtani go full throttle. If not, their championship dreams will end quickly.