Apr 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) singles in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Sends Warning to Rest of MLB

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By Valentina Martinez | Last updated Apr 12, 2026 3:15 PM ET

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani had his worst pitching start of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays this past week.

He wasn't sharp and struggled with his command, and yet, Ohtani completed six innings and was charged with just one unearned run. He struck out just two hitters, but managed to fend off the reigning American League champions.

“It was a grind,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani's start. “You can see it. He didn’t feel synced up with his delivery. You can see by the misses. He was fighting himself the entire outing. But obviously, the compete comes into play, the stuff comes into play, and he found a way to get through six innings giving up one run.

“Pretty impressive, to be quite honest, given how he felt."

Ohtani, even after a difficult outing, is sporting a 0.00 ERA across 12 innings of work — all while also being the Dodgers' designated hitter.

On Friday, the Dodgers superstar broke the record for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player in MLB history with 44 active games. Ohtani surpassed Ichiro Suzuki's 2009 record, which was 43 consecutive games where he reached base.

Ohtani's streak is now at 45 games entering Sunday's series finale against the Texas Rangers.

Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 45 games with a leadoff home run on Saturday.

It's his fourth home run of the year and raised his OPS to .955 for the Dodgers.pic.twitter.com/20MeMtTWQm
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) April 12, 2026

Ohtani is hitting .283 with four home runs, nine runs batted in and an OPS of .940. In addition to his on-base streak, Ohtani also owns the longest active streak of consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run (28.2 innings pitched), per Elias Sports.

Moreover, he is also the first Dodgers pitcher to start a season with consecutive outings of six-plus innings with no earned runs since Japanese star pitcher Kenta Maeda in 2016.

The only Dodger to begin a season with three or more consecutive such outings since earned run became official in the National League in 1912? It was Fernando Valenzuela, who had four.

While Ohtani acknowledged the initial portion of a season can be rough for him, he believes he can be even better by May.

In other words: watch out, MLB.

“I think the start of my seasons are always like this,” Ohtani said. “I’m at the stage in which I’m gradually improving. It very rarely gets better all of a sudden. If I remain at this pace and get better little by little, I think I can be in a good place by May.”

Ohtani will return to the mound during the second leg of the team's homestand against the New York Mets. The right-hander has his eyes set on a Cy Young this season.

Ohtani has won four MVP awards, two World Series rings and shattered records throughout his career. One thing the superstar has yet to do in his career is win a Cy Young.

The Dodgers superstar has much competition in the National League, including his teammate and friend Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

But one thing is clear regarding the two-way superstar: never doubt Ohtani.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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