Shohei Ohtani (31) of the Los Angeles Dodgers was once again stifled by Japanese pitcher Shota Imannaga (32, Chicago Cubs). Over the last two years, he has gone 0 for 10. Amid Ohtani's silence, the Dodgers also suffered a shocking walk-off loss.
On the 23rd (Korean time), Ohtani started as the designated hitter in a home game against the Chicago Cubs in Major League Baseball at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, where he went 0 for 4 with two runs scored, one walk, and three Samjin.
On the 21st against the Texas Rangers, Ohtani went 0 for 3 with one walk, leading to consecutive games without a hit. His season batting average dropped from .277 to .264 (23 hits in 87 at-bats). His OPS also fell from .905 to .872.
It was a game where Ohtani could not move against the left-handed starter Imannaga. Last year, he went 0 for 5 with one strikeout against Imannaga, and this year, he followed up his 0 for 2 in the opening game on the 18th of last month in Tokyo with another 0 for 5 and two strikeouts, bringing his all-time record against him to 0 for 10 with three strikeouts.
In his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, Ohtani reached first base due to a defensive error. He made contact with Imannaga's second pitch, a 91.5 mph (147.3 km/h) four-seam fastball, but Cubs third baseman Gauge Workman failed to make the catch. After reaching first, Ohtani advanced to second on Teoscar Hernández's single before Tommy Edman hit a three-run homer to score the first run.
He struck out in back-to-back at-bats afterward. In the top of the second inning, his bat swung and missed at Imannaga's fifth pitch, a high sweeper, and in the top of the fifth, he swung and missed at another sweeper that completely fell outside the lower zone.
After Imannaga left the game, Ohtani successfully reached base. In the top of the seventh with no outs and a runner on first, he walked after a full-count battle with right-hander Brad Keller. With Mookie Betts also walking, the bases were loaded, and the Dodgers scored a run when a ground ball from Teoscar Hernández led to an error by Cubs third baseman Workman. A two-RBI double from Freddy Freeman then turned the score to 8-7. Edman's sacrifice fly and Will Smith's one-RBI double hitting the left field fence added further runs, resulting in a five-run big inning.
In his last at-bat in the top of the eighth, Ohtani went down again with a swinging strikeout. Facing right-handed sidearm Gavin Hollowell, with a 2-2 count, he swung and missed at the fifth pitch, a low sweeper. It was his third game this season with three Samjin.
Despite Ohtani's silence, the Dodgers' lineup exploded with nine hits and ten runs, including three home runs. In the top of the first, Edman hit his eighth homer of the season, taking control. In the top of the second, Andy Páez hit his third solo homer of the season, and in the top of the sixth, Smith hit his third solo homer of the season. Edman went 2 for 3 with four RBIs, Teoscar Hernández went 2 for 4 with one RBI, Smith went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and one walk, and Páez went 2 for 3 with one RBI.
However, the mound could not hold the lead, leading to a walk-off loss with a score of 9-10. Dodgers starter May pitched five innings, allowing ten hits (one home run), three walks, and five strikeouts, giving up seven earned runs. Closer Tanner Scott allowed a game-tying solo homer to Miguel Amaya with two outs in the ninth, resulting in a blown save.
Cubs starter Imannaga pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing six hits (three home runs), two walks, and six strikeouts while giving up five earned runs (two unearned), but he went down with the potential for a win due to bullpen troubles. In the lineup, Kyle Tucker contributed with his seventh homer of the season, going 3 for 4 with two RBIs and one walk.
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