Shohei Ohtani ‘Happy’ To Pitch 6 Innings In Final Regular-Season Start

The Los Angeles Dodgers began their final road trip of the regular season with a 5-4 walk-off loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks despite Shohei Ohtani turning in another dominant start.

The two-way star allowed just five hits and collected eight strikeouts over six scoreless innings in what was the 100th pitching start of his career.

The performance followed Ohtani throwing five no-hit innings against the Philadelphia Phillies last week.

“Last time I pitched five innings, so I think this was a really good step in the right direction,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after his start against the Diamondbacks.

“In terms of the postseason, I’m happy I was able to end on a pretty good note.”

Tuesday was Ohtani’s first time pitching into the sixth inning since Aug. 9, 2023. The Dodgers had been limiting Ohtani to five innings, but planned to get him through six as they look ahead to the postseason.

“The end of the rehab progression at the beginning of the year was more about getting to the five-inning mark,” Ohtani explained.

“As the season went on and having a conversation with Dave Roberts last night, I state the desire of wanting to pitch a little longer to help the team in any way, shape or form.”

Ohtani has gone 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA, 1.91 FIP, 1.04 WHIP and 11.9 strikeouts per nine in 47 innings across 14 starts this season. He has allowed just one run over his last 19.2 innings across four starts, dating back to Aug. 27.

“It’s more than that,” Ohtani answered when asked if he wants to pitch deeper into games because of how effective his stuff has been.

“At the beginning of the year, with the shoulder surgery really slowing down the progression, it was something that was on my mind.

“So aside from the command and stuff, I really appreciate all the training staff that was able to get me to where I wanted to be. Today was a really important mark for me.”

Shohei Ohtani open to starting any Wild Card Series game

Ohtani is now seemingly lined up to start in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Sept. 30, though the Dodgers have not publicly committed to as much.

“I don’t think it makes sense for me to state my preference,” Ohtani answered when asked if there was a day in the Wild Card round he’d prefer to start on.

“I’m sure there’s a strategic thought behind which game I’m going to start, so I don’t really want to talk about that. I’m always happy to start in any game the team wishes for me to pitch in.”