Ohtani is still working his way back from elbow surgery

Shohei Ohtani earned his first win as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, delivering a season-high five innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds (box score). He even helped his own cause at the plate, going 1 for 5 with a run scored.

Ohtani’s overall pitching line saw him surrender that aforementioned run on two hits and two walks. He struck out nine of the 19 batters he faced, and did so on 87 pitches. Ohtani was able to generate 13 swinging strikes.

“I was just trying to do the minimum, which is get through the five,” Ohtani said through an interpreter after the game. “I was able to do what I wanted to do as a pitcher today.”

Ohtani, of course, had been denied that first win for most of two seasons because of factors largely out of his control. He did not pitch during the 2024 campaign, his first with the Dodgers, as he recovered from elbow surgery. Ohtani returned to the mound in mid-June, and Los Angeles has since eased him back into the swing of things by limiting his workload — a starter must work at least five innings to qualify for a winning decision, something he hadn’t done before Wednesday.

“I’m excited for Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game. “You know, he was one hitter away from not getting a chance to get a win because of the pitch count, so I think it was good for him to get that win.”

Indeed, Ohtani has now thrown 32 ⅓ innings across his 11 starts. He’s compiled a 4.18 ERA (100 ERA+) and a 6.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio. For his MLB career, he’s amassed a 3.08 ERA (139 ERA+) and a 3.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 97 appearances (all of them starts).

Offensively, Ohtani has continued to be highly effective. In 131 games to date, he’s hit .278/.387/.608 (174 OPS+) with 45 home runs and 17 stolen bases. His contributions as a hitter have been worth an estimated 5.5 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations.

With the win, the Dodgers completed their sweep against the Reds. Los Angeles enter Thursday up two games in the National League West race. The Reds, for their part, are now 4 ½ back in their race with the New York Mets for the NL’s third wild card spot.