Dodgers fans will be memeing on Shohei Ohtani’s hilarious strikeout of Jose Altuve for years to come

The Houston Astros may have gotten the best of Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, but it is Ohtani and the Dodgers that may have the last laugh. Ohtani was excellent against the Astros, tossing seven innings while only giving up two runs and striking out eight. Sure, he took the loss on the night, but his outing may be remembered for how foolish he made Jose Altuve look.

Altuve was hitless in four plate appearances against the Dodgers on Tuesday with three strikeouts. Two of those strikeouts came against Ohtani. It was a swing-and-miss that Altuve had against Ohtani in the fifth inning that will live in infamy.

Had Pitching Ninja just let that tweet live on its own, no one would have complained. Altuve was clearly fooled by Ohtani's sweeper, and his swing never stood a chance. But in 2026, you need to double down on your success. Which is why Rob Friedman needs further credit, imposing Altuve as a bat to see if that would have led to the veteran second baseman making contact with the pitch.

Shohei Ohtani just handed Dodgers fans endless Jose Altuve meme fuel

Now, here's the thing. Maybe if Altuve had this swing against the Los Angeles Angels? No one really would have noticed. It's baseball, and as great as hitters are, pitching is getting better with each passing day. And, when he's healthy, Ohtani is capable of making any hitter look foolish.

But the fact that this was a game against the Dodgers, one of the teams the Astros took advantage of during their sign-stealing scandal? Dodgers fans aren't going to let this slide.

There was no trash can needed. Altuve clearly decided before the pitch was thrown that he was going to swing. Adding to the hilarity of the decision from Altuve is the pitch from Ohtani, which started outside of the strike zone and only went further out of reach.

If anything, Ohtani fooling Altuve provided temporary relief for Dodgers fans. While Ohtani has looked great in his full-time return to the pitching mound this season, his offense has flashed some signs of regression. Considering the state of LA's offense, they can't really afford that at the moment.

The hope is that as the Dodgers' pitching staff gets healthy, there can be some tweaks to the plan for Ohtani. Until then, at the very least, laughing at Altuve is a good distraction.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow