LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani does more before the fifth inning than most players do all game.
With over 40,000 fans wearing his World Series ring (the promotional giveaway Wednesday) after lining up hours before the game to get theirs, Ohtani struck out eight in a season-high four innings pitched and gave himself the lead with a 440-foot, two-run home run that just happened to also be his 1,000th hit in the major leagues.
But it wasn’t enough.
The Dodgers let a two-run lead melt in the heat. Alex Vesia and Brock Stewart gave up three runs in the final two innings of a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals took two out of three in the series.
A week after having to leave the game as a pitcher due to cramping in his right hip, Ohtani was feeling frisky against the Cardinals. Thirty-one of his 54 pitches were four-seam fastballs including nine that touched 100 mph and one that hit 101.1 mph. The Cardinals swung at 15 of them, missed six times and also took seven for called strikes.
Ohtani doubled his previous season-high with eight strikeouts Wednesday including the last four batters he faced. But the Dodgers stuck with their predetermined plan, ending his pitching day after four innings.
The Cardinals got their only run off of Ohtani without hitting a ball out of the infield. Miguel Rojas lost a pop up in the afternoon sun to start the third inning. After a stolen base and a ground out moved the runner to third, Brendan Donovan beat out a bunt single to drive in the run.
In the bottom of the inning, though, Alex Call led off with a double. Alex Freeland popped out on his bunt attempt but Ohtani crushed a 93-mph sinker from Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore, sending it 440 feet to left-center field for a two-run home run – and his 1,000th major-league hit.
The ball left Ohtani’s bat at 109.5 mph, making Wednesday unofficially the fourth time in his MLB career that Ohtani has both thrown a pitch 100 mph or faster in the same game that he hit a home run with an exit velocity of 100 mph or higher.
That completed Ohtani’s feats of strength for the day. The Dodgers added a gift run in the fourth inning then tried to hold on.
Andy Pages led off that fourth inning with a single and moved up on a wild pitch. When he took off for third base with Miguel Rojas batting, Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages jumped up and threw towards third base – but hit Rojas’ bat. The ball caromed to the backstop and Andy Pages scored as Pedro Pages looked around in bemusement.
Justin Wrobleski replaced Ohtani on the mound in the fifth and gave one run back in the sixth after a leadoff walk.
With the lead down to one, he stranded the tying run at second base in the seventh. Vesia took over in the eighth but couldn’t pull off his own escape act.
Alec Burleson led off with a single. After a fly out, Masyn Winn singled. Both runners held when Yohel Pozo flew out. One out away from getting away with the lead intact, Vesia gave up a single to Jordan Walker.
Burleson scored on the hit to tie the game and Winn went to third. Andy Pages’ throw was too late to get him. Walker went to second on the play and third baseman Alex Freeland’s throw went into right field, allowing Winn to score the go-ahead run on the error.
Stewart struggled in the top of the ninth, allowing another run on two hits, a walk and a hit batter. Stewart has given up runs in two of his first three appearances since the Dodgers acquired him in a deadline trade with the Minnesota Twins.
