NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Shohei Ohtani can just do whatever he wants on the baseball field.
Complete 50 circuits? Of course. Steal 50 bases? You have it. Both in the same season? It looks good.
Lead the majors in earned run average? If you say so.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way star is certainly not living up to the expectations he set for himself, owning a .951 lifetime OPS, posting an OPS over 1,000 in three straight years and hitting 54 and 55 home runs in each of the last two seasons, respectively.
It’s been a rough year so far for Ohtani, who is hitting .240 with a .796 OPS. Not counting the truncated 2020 season, these would be the lowest marks of his career.
But he most certainly makes up for it on the mound.
After recording seven scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, Ohtani is now pitching to an MLB-best 0.82 ERA.
Ohtani has allowed just four earned runs all season, half of them earlier this month against a stout Houston Astros offense, in 44.0 innings pitched.
Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
CAL RALEIGH ENDS 0-FOR-38 STREAK WITH UNORTHODOX SUPERSTITION INVOLVING HIS FULL UNIFORM
“(The) ideal situation is to be great on both sides of the ball,” Ohtani said after his gem in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win over their NL West rivals, via The Athletic. “But the way I see it, if I’m not contributing offensively, then I know I can contribute on the pitching side and vice versa. So I take it that way.”
“He wants to be the best pitcher in baseball, and right now he’s doing that,” added manager Dave Roberts. “You can tell he’s hyper-focused on the preparation part, and then obviously on the days he starts, the execution.”
Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 and returned to the mound last summer, with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts amid his 1.014 OPS, good for his fourth MVP in the last five seasons.
The Dodgers have been careful with Ohtani’s workload, keeping him as pitcher only at times this season, as it is well known that his offensive numbers take a hit when he is on the mound, which is understandable.
“It’s interesting because last year there was a lot of talk that he shouldn’t pitch and just be a hitter,” Roberts said. “Now it’s a little bit reversed. I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind, but I feel some clarity about how we handle it. There’s not just one way to do it. You just try to be fluid and react and respond to what he’s feeling.”
But at the very least, the Dodgers currently have the best pitcher in baseball this season at the top of their lineup. It’s like the pre-DH era, except the pitcher bats first instead of ninth.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way fielder Shohei Ohtani throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
And it shouldn’t surprise anyone if and when Ohtani finds the bat – all while continuing to mow down everyone he faces at 60 feet, 6 inches.
