What does a strikeout on a pitch 3 feet outside look like?

Shohei Ohtani -- leading MLB with an 0.97 ERA -- has had it all working pretty much the whole time he’s been on the mound this season. But even when he hasn’t necessarily had his best stuff, he’s made opposing batters look silly.

Ohtani struck out Astros star Jose Altuve in the fifth inning Tuesday with an outside sweeper that was 3.23 feet(!) from the center of home plate. The pitch never really had the plate, starting outside and featuring 17 inches of glove-side run. Altuve just couldn’t hold up in a pivotal 1-2 count with two outs and runners on the corners.

Ohtani’s sweeper at 3.23 feet was the widest pitch that induced a swing from a right-handed batter since June 2022, when a rookie Bobby Witt Jr. couldn’t check his swing against Lou Trivino of the Athletics. Trivino’s sweeper broke 18 inches and finished 3.5 feet outside.

Only once has a left-handed batter swung at a pitch farther outside since 2022. Last April, Brennan Bernardino of the Red Sox had the Blue Jays’ Daulton Varsho waving at a cutter that broke 22 inches to wind up 3.79 feet outside.

The ugly fifth-inning strikeout was just part of an unfavorable night for Altuve at the plate Tuesday, as he ended the game 0-for-4 with a trio of punchouts.

However, Altuve and the Astros got the last laugh in a 2-1 win, despite Ohtani spinning seven solid innings with eight strikeouts. Peter Lambert outdueled the four-time MVP with seven scoreless frames.