Shohei Ohtani throws seven shutout innings in dominant win over Giants

Seven innings. Four hits. No runs. Eight strikeouts. Two walks. 105 pitches.

And somehow, it still felt even more dominant than the line suggested.

Right now, Ohtani doesn’t merely look like an ace. He looks like the best pitcher on the planet.

“He’s hyper focused on the preparation part of it,” Dave Roberts said afterward. “And then obviously the days that he starts, the execution.”

Execution has become routine for Ohtani this season.

Through seven starts, he has gone at least six innings every single time. His ERA sits at 0.82. He has struck out 50 batters in 44 innings while allowing almost nothing hard, nothing comfortable and very little hope. Ohtani has only allowed four earned runs all season long.

And on Wednesday, against the Dodgers’ biggest rival, he elevated again.

The Giants managed only scattered traffic against him for most of the night. Ohtani had runners on the corners in the first inning and got out of it by striking out Bryce Eldridge. Ohtani topped at 99.8mph, carving through the lineup with an ease that almost felt unfair. His fastball exploded at the top of the zone. His sweeper disappeared off the plate late. Hitters looked consistently late, defensive and uncomfortable.

The only moment of genuine danger came in the seventh inning.

Back-to-back singles suddenly put pressure on Ohtani after he had already surpassed his previous season high in pitches. Then Drew Gilbert launched a drive deep to the track in center field, where Andy Pages tracked it down near the wall.

What happened next felt like the baseball gods finally giving the Dodgers a break.

Willy Adames either lost track of the outs or misread the ball entirely, breaking aggressively off second base and getting doubled off to end the inning. Ohtani walked off the mound with a gift, and perhaps a preserved ERA, after one of the strangest inning-ending plays of the Dodgers’ season.

Even Ohtani acknowledged it afterward.

“The feeling is pretty good,” Ohtani said. “I feel really good with my pitches. Today, the deep fly ball and the last out of the seventh inning, that could’ve swayed my ERA, so I think there’s some luck involved as well.”

Maybe. But luck alone doesn’t produce a 0.82 ERA through seven starts in the major leagues.

What stood out Wednesday was how complete Ohtani looked as a pitcher. The command was sharp. The sequencing was advanced. The confidence was unmistakable. This version of Ohtani doesn’t pitch like someone balancing two jobs anymore. He pitches like someone fully in control of one craft while preparing to rediscover the other.

The Dodgers again kept him out of the lineup offensively, marking his third straight start without hitting duties. Roberts framed the decision as both a physical and mental reset after Ohtani’s recent offensive struggles.

Ohtani agreed with the plan.

“I talked to the team and I’m good with it,” Ohtani said. “My last at-bat as a hitter yesterday was really good so I wanted to continue that momentum whenever I get to hit again.”

That offensive reset may be coming at the perfect time because the Dodgers suddenly appear capable of carrying more of the load around him.

Santiago Espinal gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the third inning with his first home run as a Dodger. Moments later, Mookie Betts followed with a homer of his own, marking the Dodgers’ second set of back-to-back home runs this season.  For Betts, it was his first home run since returning Monday, and third this season.

Teoscar Hernández added an RBI single in the fourth while Kyle Tucker collected two doubles and Miguel Rojas chipped in two hits of his own.

But none of it overshadowed Ohtani. Not on this night.

Because this wasn’t simply another strong outing. This felt like another step in the evolution of a pitcher who is rapidly separating himself in the National League Cy Young race. And perhaps the most fascinating part of it all is that Ohtani still believes there’s another level offensively waiting to emerge.

“I do want to contribute more offensively,” Ohtani said. “I haven’t done so this year and I’m looking forward to doing that.”

That should probably terrify the rest of baseball.

The Dodgers will head to Anaheim this weekend for the latest chapter of the Freeway Series, where Ohtani is expected to return to the lineup as a hitter against his former team. His next scheduled start is next week in San Diego.

If he keeps pitching like this, the Dodgers may not need much offense from him at all.