Ohtani pitching – Shohei Ohtani delivered a first-pitch home run and then pitched for the Dodgers in Wednesday’s showdown at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres—one of the rare days he both pitches and hits in the same game this season. The Dodgers entered with a narrow lea
When Shohei Ohtani stepped in for his first at-bat of the night, the plan was simple: do it all—pitch, then hit. What happened next was anything but routine.
At Petco Park in San Diego on Wednesday, May 20, the Dodgers two-way star took on Padres pitcher Randy Vásquez and went deep on the first pitch to give Los Angeles an early 1-0 lead. It was the kind of swing that changes the temperature in the ballpark right away.
The evening was already special in baseball terms before the first pitch: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that this was only the third time this season Ohtani would both pitch and hit in the same day. Roberts has experimented with keeping Ohtani out of the lineup on days he pitches as the team has tried to manage his workload. especially after a prolonged slump at the plate early in the year. The results, Roberts said, have been promising.
Ohtani entered Wednesday with a 0.82 ERA, the lowest in the Majors. After back-to-back off days in the final two games of the Dodgers’ series against the San Francisco Giants last week. his hitting has warmed up as well. In the five games since those off days. Ohtani went 10-for-19 with five extra-base hits—including a Little League-style home run against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. Over that same span, he totaled eight RBIs and five walks, and his OPS rose from .767 to .872.
Roberts said Monday that Ohtani looked sharper after the break: “I just feel like he’s more energized,” Roberts told reporters. “I think the couple days off did his body and mind some good.”
The Dodgers also brought some urgency to the series. After retaking first place in the NL West from the San Diego Padres with a 5-4 win on Tuesday night—thanks to Andy Pages’ clutch ninth-inning at-bat against Mason Miller that scored the winning run from third on Tuesday—Los Angeles entered the series finale with a half-game lead. A win Wednesday would create some breathing room, even if only a little.
The game itself unfolded with Ohtani at the center of it. With his home run. he made MLB history again: with his first-pitch home run. he produced the second leadoff home run by a pitcher in league history. according to MLB’s Sarah Langs. He also became the first player to reach that feat with his home run in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series last season.
For the pitching half of the night, Ohtani faced a full count against Vásquez before being walked. He was expected to return to the mound for the fifth inning. In the fifth. the Dodgers pushed the lead higher when Kyle Tucker singled to right field. bringing Ohtani in to score a run and making it 3-0.
By that point, Ohtani had already made his early case on the mound. Through three innings. he was credited with four strikeouts. and after two innings he had logged three strikeouts (23 strikes) through 37 pitches. Across five scoreless innings, he allowed three hits while striking out four (53 strikes) on 88 pitches. He also led the Dodgers through four innings on the mound. allowing just one hit while striking out four (42 strikes) on 70 pitches.
The Dodgers’ offense added another run in the second inning when Teoscar Hernández hit a sacrifice fly to right field. allowing Max Muncy to score. Ohtani flied out to center before Hyeseong Kim and Will Smith advanced to second and third, respectively. The Dodgers then took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the inning.
As the game moved toward the middle frames, Ohtani was also poised to hit again—he did not have a chance to hit in the inning when the game reached the bottom half, and he was expected to be the first batter up for the top of the fifth inning.
If the night felt like it had been built for Ohtani, the matchups around him were set just as carefully. For Los Angeles. the batting order listed Shohei Ohtani as the DH. followed by Mookie Betts at SS. Freddie Freeman at 1B. Kyle Tucker at RF. Andy Pages at CF. Max Muncy at 3B. Will Smith at C. Teoscar Hernández at LF. and Hyeseong Kim at 2B.
San Diego’s lineup featured Fernando Tatis Jr. at 2B, Miguel Andujar at DH, Gavin Sheets at 1B, Manny Machado at 3B, Xander Bogaerts at SS, Jackson Merrill at CF, Nick Castellanos at RF, Ramón Laureano at LF, Freddy Fermin at C, and Shohei Ohtani on the mound opposite Randy Vásquez for the Padres.
The first pitch time and where to watch were set for the showdown: Wednesday’s game started at 6:40 p.m. PT (9:40 p.m. ET) at Petco Park in San Diego. The broadcast and streaming options were Spectrum SportsNet LA for the Dodgers and Padres.TV for the Padres.
In the end, it wasn’t just that Ohtani pitched and hit—it was how quickly he made the night belong to him, from a first-pitch home run off Vásquez to the lead-building moments that followed, while the Dodgers chased a vital edge in the NL West.
Shohei Ohtani Dodgers vs Padres Petco Park NL West standings Randy Vasquez first-pitch home run Mookie Betts Freddie Freeman Andy Pages Mason Miller Dave Roberts Spectrum SportsNet LA Padres.TV