Shohei Ohtani put on a show both at the plate and on the mound. He led off the game with a sharp single off Blake Snell, then stepped onto the mound and started dealing. He mixed speeds and movement with confidence, using a sharp splitter and looping curve to keep hitters off balance. He struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. with a splitter that dropped hard and kept pounding the zone with a mix of fastballs and off-speed pitches. His command wasn’t perfect, but his stuff was effective.
At the plate, Ohtani later drew a walk from Snell, showing patience and making the pitcher work. Back on the mound, he continued striking guys out and even exchanged a funny moment with the ump after a borderline call went his way. In the field, he reacted quickly on a foul pop-up, helping secure a slick barehanded catch, though he tried to give the ball to some kids and they weren’t interested. Later, he lined a pitch the other way off reliever Mark Melancon, reaching the wall in right. The strange-looking swing still generated power, but he was called out at second after briefly losing contact with the bag.
Ohtani’s ability to contribute as both a leadoff hitter and a dominant pitcher in the same game keeps raising the ceiling of what’s possible. Even on a day when not every pitch or swing was perfect, he had a huge impact in all phases.