LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani threw a curveball into the proceedings. Twenty-three of them to be exact.
In his third attempt to hit the five innings pitched mark this season, Ohtani finally succeeded by leaning into his secondary pitches to strike out a season-high nine while also earning his first win from the mound in a Dodgers uniform.
The 5-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday completed a three-game sweep and boosted the Dodgers’ home winning streak to six games.
It also opened a two-game lead in the National League West after the second-place San Diego Padres fell to the Seattle Mariners, 4-3.
Strikeouts were the theme. Five Dodgers pitchers combined for 19 of them, the most in franchise history going back at least until 1900. Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski each had two, while Edgardo Henriquez and Blake Treinen each struck out the side to finish off the victory.
“I didn’t appreciate the 19 strikeouts tonight, and that’s a big number,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “It speaks to what our guys can do with the talent that we have, the swing and miss and so really good performance.”
Ohtani took charge by also delivering the Dodgers’ first hit of the game: A single to lead off a four-run fourth inning. Kiké Hernandez and rookie Dalton Rushing each had two-run singles in the fourth and Michael Conforto crushed a home run to right in the eighth.
The mound, though, is where most of the focus was trained. Ohtani’s slow progression as a starter, in his return from 2023 Tommy John revision surgery, was supposed to reach five innings in an Aug. 13 start against the Angels. He lasted just 4⅓ innings on 80 pitches in that one.
He tried it again last week in Colorado but was hit in the leg by a comebacker and finished his outing at four innings and 66 pitches on a night when Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani lacked “his best stuff.”
Ohtani got back on track with a curveball he had thrown just 11 times this season before Wednesday. He got a swinging strikeout on the curve against Noelvi Marte in the first inning, then two more in the second against Gavin Lux and Matt McLain.
“The plan going into this game was to throw more curveballs and splits regardless of the lineup,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.
He was not exactly efficient with 87 total pitches, but his heavy curveball usage now gives opponents even more to think about. Ohtani ended up throwing seven types of pitches on the night, including his sweeper 16 times.
He leaned into his four-seam fastball 15 times, reaching 100 mph with it on four occasions.
“With the doctor consultation, the No. 1 goal was to make sure my fastball and my velocity was where I want it to be,” Ohtani said. “So curveball and split was less of a priority going into this part of the rehab process. That was my process.”
When asked about his inability to finish five innings in his most recent two starts, Roberts hinted before the game that a varied arsenal was coming.
“In general, I think it’s figuring out where the secondaries are at,” Roberts said. “I don’t think there’s fatigue.”
It took 11 starts to finally feature the curveball, but it has all been part of the team’s deliberate process to get Ohtani back to his full arsenal by the time October arrives.
“Just being able to use your entire pitch mix, yeah, today was a complete performance by Shohei,” Roberts said. “Through three innings, the pitch count was up there. So for him to find a way to get through four (innings) and then through five, first time he’s done it, was a huge accomplishment.”
While Ohtani called his own pitches into the third inning, Rushing took the lead from there, guiding Ohtani to the end of his day on the mound.
“Just so happened in the third I called a single pitch and from then on out, he wanted me to call the game,” Rushing said. “We kind of trusted each other.”
The Dodgers actually trailed when Marte hit a solo home run off Ohtani in the third. While he might be a rookie, Rushing showed some veteran savvy for taking the blame for the long ball since it came on a pitch he called.
The Dodgers’ offense finally came around in the fourth when Ohtani’s single started a four-run inning that included five singles against Damien High product Nick Lodolo of the Reds.
With the bases loaded, Kiké Hernandez rolled a two-run single to center field. After a two-out walk to Miguel Rojas loaded the bases again, Rushing hit his own ground ball two-run single to center.
When his day from the mound was complete, Ohtani had allowed one run on two hits with two walks. It was his first win as a pitcher since Aug. 9, 2023, against the San Francisco Giants, when he went six innings and threw 97 pitches.
“Normal celebration. Nothing special,” Ohtani said after his first Dodgers win on the mound as music and celebratory nightclub fog poured from the clubhouse.
Hernandez now has an RBI in both starts he has made since coming off the injured list because of a left elbow injury and can see a team quickly gaining momentum.
“We’ve always known that if we’re at full strength, I mean, as good as our offense is, our pitching is probably even better,” he said. “And we’re getting there. We still have a guy or two that are out. But as far as the starting rotation, we’re pretty healthy right now. And we feel pretty confident. There’s no easy ABs in our rotation, and our bullpen is starting to get healthy too.”