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Dodgers Sweep Mets Behind Shohei Ohtani's 10 Punchouts
TL;DR
The Dodgers completed a sweep of the Mets, winning 8-1 in the series finale. Shohei Ohtani excelled on the mound, striking out 10 batters and allowing just two hits.
(© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
Shohei Ohtani doesn't need to hit.
Prior to Wednesday's series finale against the New York Mets, the Dodgers released their starting lineup without a familair face. Two-way man Shohei Ohtani would only toe the rubber instead of taking his spot in the leadoff spot, something he hasn't done since May 28, 2021.
Despite not taking any hacks in the batters box, Ohtani dominated the struggling Mets, striking out 10, while only giving up two hits in the 8-1 win.
Those 10 strikeouts matches a career-high in a Dodgers uniform and his 22 whiffs is a career high with Los Angeles.
The Dodgers would strike first in the bottom of the second inning as Hyeseong Kim launched his first home run of 2026 for 372 feet. A two-run shot that marked his fourth in his early career.
New York would stay patient and it would pay off in the fifth.
Ohtani's command would begin to dip, issuing two walks to Francisco Alvarez and Marcus Semien.
With one out, MJ Melendez, who made his season debut with the Mets, cracked his second double off Ohtani.
A ground rule double that was partially due to a bad jump by Kyle Tucker in right field drove in the first Mets' runs in what seems like ages ago.
That seemed to visibly irritate Ohtani on the mound, as he threw four straight fastballs topping out at 100 mph and striking out Tommy Pham to end the inning.
Ohtani put the cherry on top in his final inning if work, striking out the side in order and recording double-digit strikeouts for the first time since his historic NLCS Game 4 performance.
Teoscar Hernandez added some cushion of offense, launching a solo shot for 370-feet to give the Dodgers their 3-1 lead.
You can never have too much cushion though apparently, as Dalton Rushing, who was in the designated hitter spot for Ohtani, found himself up to bat with the bases loaded and no outs.
All it took was one pitch for Rushing to crank a 412-foot go-ahead grandslam to open the scoring wide open.
Tucker cranked the Dodgers fourth home run of the evening, stapling in the 8-1 score.
That home run marked his first long ball hit at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers bullpen, which consisted of Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott, and Kyle Hurt logged in three straight quality innings to secure the series sweep against the Mets.
Looking ahead, the Dodgers have an off day on Thursday before traveling to Colorado to play the Rockies for a four-game series starting Friday.
Roberts confirmed in the pregame that the pitching probables for the series in Colorado will go as followed:
Friday will showcase Tyler Glasnow, Saturday is Emmet Sheehan, Sunday is Roki Sasaki and Justin Wrobleski closes out the series on Monday.
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Q&A
How many strikeouts did Shohei Ohtani achieve against the Mets?
Shohei Ohtani struck out 10 batters during the game against the Mets.
What was the final score of the Dodgers vs. Mets game?
The final score of the game was 8-1 in favor of the Dodgers.
When was the last time Shohei Ohtani did not bat in a game?
Shohei Ohtani last did not bat in a game on May 28, 2021.