Shohei Ohtani Continues Cy Young Push With Dazzling Start vs. Giants

May 13, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Ohtani finished with just four hits allowed, eight strikeouts, and two walks. His pitch count was high at 105, though he managed to throw 71 strikes, attacking the zone and generating whiffs.

He got four strikeouts on his fastball and four strikeouts on his sweeper. Ohtani will still throw a sinker, splitter, or curveball, but he has simplified his arsenal, which is helping him be more efficient and effective.

Rather than push himself, he kept his velocity down, other than a high-leverage moment in the first inning with a runner in scoring position.

Other than that moment, he kept a controlled baseline and hyper-fixated on keeping the hitters guessing with the “tunnelling” effect of his sweeper-fastball combination, which makes it so the hitter does not know whether it is a fastball or offspeed until it bites in one direction or the other.

How is Shohei Ohtani doing in the Cy Young race?

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is the consensus betting favorite for the National League Cy Young, especially after his recent run of amazing baseball.

Ohtani, despite having a 0.82 ERA over 44 innings pitched, is still in the second tier of contenders, according to the bookies, though he is on the trajectory to be right in the mix come the season’s end.

The problem for Ohtani will be his innings total on his current schedule, but if he keeps going deep into games and having ridiculous strikeout figures, it will be hard not to make him a finalist, at the very least.

His margin for error is small to capture the hardware, but the way he is pitching right now, Ohtani is making a real push.