Ohtani will – Shohei Ohtani labored early but delivered a 9-strikeout, 4-3 win over the Padres at Dodger Stadium. Then, after feeling something in his right biceps during his last at-bat, he exited for precautionary reasons and will sit on Saturday, per manager Dave Roberts
For a moment after the first inning, Shohei Ohtani looked like he was slipping back into rhythm.
After leading off the mound and surviving an uneven start. he sought out Dalton Rushing for a fist bump and a one-armed hug before getting ready to take his job at the plate side in the bottom half of the inning. It was a small exchange. but it carried a message: whatever was messy in the opening frame. the battery was at least on the same page—unlike the last time they worked together.
This time, the grind didn’t last. Ohtani struck out nine and allowed three runs across six innings as L.A. beat the Padres, 4-3, on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
The evening began with command issues that never quite disappeared. Ohtani opened with a four-pitch walk to Fernando Tatis Jr., then missed twice more before finally finding the zone against Jake Cronenworth. Cronenworth worked the count full before drawing another walk.
The first leadoff walk came back to matter when Tatis scored on a Gavin Sheets single. Even so, Ohtani managed the moment and kept it from turning into a bigger problem. In the first inning, he recorded all three outs via strikeout, and it seemed to give him momentum.
After Sheets’ RBI single, Ohtani struck out six of his next seven hitters. He allowed a pair of runs more on the solo shot Jackson Merrill hit in the fourth, then surrendered another run on a Xander Bogaerts RBI double in the sixth—an inning where Ohtani stranded two runners in scoring position.
Getting through it required both efficiency and stamina. Ohtani made the most of the season-high eight days of rest by throwing a season-high 110 pitches to reach a quality start.
Still, for all the win, the start-to-the-season standards remain fresh in memory. In the first 10 starts, Ohtani allowed just seven runs (five earned) over 61 innings. In his past four starts, the totals changed: he has given up 14 runs (12 earned) across 24 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers’ offense did enough to turn the outing. After Padres starter Michael King held them scoreless through six innings, L.A. took the lead in the seventh on a grand slam by Teoscar Hernández—his first home run since returning from the injured list on Monday.
When the leadoff spot came up again in that seventh, Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Ohtani.
Then came the moment that shifted the focus away from the scoreboard. Ohtani said postgame that he felt something in his right biceps during his last at-bat, and he exited the game for precautionary reasons.
Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani will sit on Saturday.
So the win came with a warning attached—one that the Dodgers will have to treat seriously, even with a season-opening kind of intensity still hanging in the air from Friday night’s nine-strikeout performance.
Shohei Ohtani Dodgers Padres Dalton Rushing Dave Roberts right biceps Teoscar Hernández Fernando Tatis Jr Jackson Merrill Gavin Sheets