It sure looked like theDodgers could’ve used Shohei Ohtani’s batin the lineup Tuesday night.
In a 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins,Ohtani pitched just fine in a six-inning, two-run, nine-strikeout start, giving him a 0.60 ERA through five starts on the mound this year.
But for the second time this season, the Dodgers elected to leave the two-way star out of the batting order in a game he pitched as part of their plan to manage his workload this season.
Long-term, they hope, it will keep Ohtani fresh.
But on Tuesday, it led to a dreadful night at the plate from the rest of the team.
After coming up empty in a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity created by shaky Marlins defense in the first, the Dodgers (20-10) did little at the plate the rest of the night.
Miami starter Janson Junk kept them off-balance in a scoreless six-inning start, using a five-pitch to induce weak contact and collect quick outs. The Marlins bullpen avoided the kind of collapse that doomed them in Monday’s walk-off finish, giving up one run in the eighth but stranded runners on the corners to retire the side.
That would be as close as the Dodgers came to a comeback. In the ninth, they got an infield single from Andy Pages, but nothing else.
Backup catcher Dalton Rushing replaced Ohtani in as the team’s designated hitter –– and, so as not to disrupt the rest of the batting order, leadoff man –– but went 0-for-4 and struck out in the fifth on a pitch-clock violation (after home plate umpire Clint Vondrak evidently didn’t see him trying to call for time).
Few others were any better, with the Dodgers managing just seven hits on the night while leaving eight stranded on base.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
