Shohei Ohtani takes biggest step yet to becoming Dodgers pitching force in playoffs

Last October, we got our first taste of Shohei Ohtani in the postseason when he posted a .767 OPS and logged one of the biggest home runs in Dodgers history in his first career playoff at-bat. 

This year, we might get a chance to see him add to that on the pitching mound thanks to the work that he’s been able to put in during the regular season. 

The latest version of that work came on Wednesday when Ohtani recorded a season-high nine strikeouts across five innings in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Reds. 

Shohei Ohtani dominating Reds gives Dodgers excellent playoff preview

Ohtani has been nothing short of spectacular in the batter’s box this season, as he’s recorded a 278/.387/.605 line with a National League-leading 45 home runs to go along with 85 RBI. 

But he’s added another wrinkle this year thanks to his return from the mound after last season’s Tommy John surgery. He’s now posted a 4.18 ERA across 32 1/3 innings this year. Wednesday’s win marked the first time he recorded a win on the mound since he did so Aug. 9, 2023 as a member of the Angels. 

It was also the first time he threw five innings this year, which is his self-imposed cap on how long he’ll go in a single outing. And while that cap has led to some speculation that he could potentially work out of the bullpen once October rolls around, he spent five innings Wednesday showing why he’s such a dangerous option as a starting pitcher.

"The fact that I was able to reach five innings was really key in terms of moving forward,” Ohtani said after the start. “Moving forward, it’s going to be a collaboration between the doctors, the front office and Dave Roberts in terms of how we want to proceed with if we’re going to throw more than five.”

Last year, the Dodgers won the Fall Classic despite having a rotation that underperformed a bit in October. If Ohtani is able to stay healthy and continues to progress in his rehab, then the sky is the limit for the Dodgers’ rotation. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is having another strong season and was the staff ace during last year’s postseason run, while Clayton Kershaw is turning back the clock once again. The Dodgers always incorporate some kind of “pitching madness” to their postseason plans, so we should see plenty of Jack Dreyer, Justin Wrobleski and Ben Casparius used in a variety of roles. 

The Dodgers will need to make sure they’re diligent in how they handle things with Ohtani to make sure that he’s healthy ahead of October, but the fact that he's working on his length and just struck out nine batters on a playoff-hopeful Reds team tells fans that they could be in for a treat come October. Ohtani has another month to get comfortable, and Wednesday's preview might just be the start of him lighting up the mound in the postseason.