Shohei Ohtani allowed his first earned run of the season but maintained a dominant performance, striking out key batters to limit the damage. He remains undefeated with a 0.50 ERA in 2026.
Ohtani allowed his first earned run after walking two batters and giving up a ground-rule double to MJ Melendez, which scored Carson Benge.
Ohtani struck out two batters and allowed only one run, maintaining a 0.50 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 18 innings this season.
After the Mets scored, Ohtani increased his fastball velocity, throwing four pitches over 100 mph to secure the inning without further damage.
Ohtani is currently 2-0 in 2026 with an impressive ERA of 0.50, leading the National League.
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Ohtani walked two batters and gave up a hit in the first three batters of the inning, though he was saved by a bit of confusion on the base paths by the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez. With one out and men on first and second, though, MJ Melendez hit a ground-rule double, sending Carson Benge home to score and Marcus Semien to third base. All of the sudden, the Dodgers were only up 2-1, and the Mets were threatening to tie or even take the lead.
With his back against the wall, Ohtani turned it up a notch. Before the next two at-bats against Tommy Pham and Francisco Lindor, Ohtani’s four-seam fastball had been about 96 or 97 mph for the most part. For four straight fastballs to Pham and Lindor, though, he threw noticeably harder: 100.2 mph, 100.3 mph, 100.1 mph and 100.4 mph. A strikeout and a lineout later, Ohtani was out of the inning, and the Mets were held to just one run, and the runners on second and third were stranded.
As detailed by Katie Woo of *The Athletic*, Ohtani admitted that he decided to increase his power given the situation. “Just added a little more intensity after they scored a run,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But overall, it felt really nice and easy and loose throughout the whole outing. So I think that’s the reason why I threw a little harder.” Ohtani added that he “can’t go full throttle the whole time,” but in this instance, it was called for.
“But considering where the game was at that point, I felt like I just really had to go full throttle and consider the game situation,” he said. As a result, Ohtani is 2-0 so far in 2026 and his ERA remains an otherworldly 0.50, good for best in the National League. In 18 innings of work in three games, he’s allowed only seven hits and walked only six batters. As for strikeouts, he has 18, averaging one per inning. And though Melendez came close, no one has hit a homer off of Ohtani this year. Do you think Ohtani can keep up the stellar pitching over the course of the season?