LOS ANGELES -- Even when he wasn't his sharpest, Shohei Ohtani was able to give the Dodgers a quality outing on the mound. But he lacked the opportunity to provide his own run support.
Pitching on five days' rest for the first time this year -- and only the third time in his 19 regular-season pitching starts as a Dodger -- Ohtani allowed a season-high nine Marlins to reach base in Tuesday night's game at Dodger Stadium. He limited the damage to two runs (one earned), completing six innings for the fifth time in as many starts this season.
For the second time in his five pitching starts this season, Ohtani did not hit. Had he been in the leadoff spot as usual, he would have been in the on-deck circle when the Dodgers' 2-1 loss was sealed when Alex Freeland tapped a game-ending grounder to first base.
The poor offensive performance did not make manager Dave Roberts doubt his decision to manage Ohtani's workload when he was already pitching on less rest than usual, especially since he will be back in the lineup for Wednesday's 12:10 p.m. PT rubber game.
“I don’t think that is going to play in my math. I think the main thing is to do right by Shohei," Roberts said. "Even without him tonight in the lineup, we should’ve won the game. I feel good about it. I’d do the same thing again.”
If anything, Roberts was discouraged that the lineup saw only 112 pitches from the Marlins -- just eight more than Ohtani threw -- while going 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and leaving eight on base.
Since the earned run became an official statistic in the National League in 1912, Ohtani's 0.60 ERA is the fifth-lowest by a Dodger through his first five starts of the season. Only Fernando Valenzuela (0.20 in 1981 and 0.21 in '85), Don Sutton (0.42 in 1972) and Jesse Petty (0.57 in 1926) had lower marks.
Ohtani struck out nine Marlins hitters, but he also tied season highs by giving up five hits and issuing three walks. He needed 104 pitches -- the most he's thrown as a Dodger in the regular season or postseason -- to get through the start.
"From the bullpen, I didn’t exactly feel like my stuff was in line with where I wanted to be," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "I feel great physically. I think it’s something to do with my mechanics."
Ohtani's own errant throw led to the Marlins' first run of the game. He hit Agustín Ramírez to lead off the second inning. When Ramírez broke for second base, Ohtani made a wild pickoff attempt that allowed Ramírez to advance to third with nobody out. Ramírez came in to score on an Owen Caissie sacrifice fly, and the run was unearned.
In the fifth inning, Ohtani gave up an earned run for just the second time this season. Christopher Morel drew a walk to lead off the inning, later getting over to second with two outs on a Jakob Marsee sacrifice bunt. Kyle Stowers followed by slicing a single into right field, bringing Morel home safely.
Ohtani gave up a one-out base hit in the sixth inning, but he struck out a trio of Marlins to cap his evening.
"Capitalized on him probably not having as sharp as command as he probably normally does, but just make him work and try to throw a bunch of pitches," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, who was the Dodgers' first-base coach during Ohtani's first year in L.A. "We did just enough against a really good pitcher, and just hung in there and made him work hard for six innings."
At the plate, Ohtani has been off to a slower start, although he looked to be rounding into form with back-to-back three-hit games. The Dodgers could have used that version of Ohtani on Tuesday, but the team has the bigger picture in mind when it comes to keeping him healthy over the course of the season.
And as far as Roberts was concerned, Ohtani did more than enough to put his team in position to win without swinging a bat.
“I don’t think he felt completely in sync. There were a lot of misfires and bad misses," Robert said. "But for him to still find a way to navigate six innings and then give up two runs, we should win the game. I give him a lot of credit.”