Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after striking out the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning at Oracle Park. SAN FRANCISCO – The irony wasn’t lost on anyone inside Oracle Park on Wednesday night. Shohei Ohtani delivered exactly what the Dodgers could have asked for on the mound, and almost nothing they needed at the plate.The result was as frustrating as it was familiar of late: a 3-0 loss to the Giants, their second straight defeat in the series and their first shutout of the season.Ohtani was, in many ways, brilliant.
Efficient. Electric. Locked in. He carved through San Francisco’s lineup with a fastball-sweeper mix that produced 18 whiffs and long stretches of helpless swings.
After allowing two hits in the first inning, he settled completely, retiring 10 consecutive hitters at one point and needing just seven pitches to breeze through the third.Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Stan Szeto-Imagn ImagesLos Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.By the time he walked off the mound after six scoreless innings, six hits, no walks, seven strikeouts on 91 pitches, his ERA sat at 0.38.
Over 24 innings this season, he has allowed just one earned run.And yet, he left with nothing to show for it.Because while Ohtani the pitcher dominated, Ohtani the hitter, along with the rest of the Dodgers’ lineup, disappeared.Ohtani went 0-for-4, ending his 53-game on-base streak, which ties Shawn Green for the second-longest in Dodgers history. It was a quiet finish to a remarkable run, and emblematic of a night where nothing came easily offensively.Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a single during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Stan Szeto-Imagn ImagesLos Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a single during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.The struggles didn’t stop there.
The top of the order, Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith, combined to go 0-for-11. Teoscar Hernández added an 0-for-4, while Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim each went hitless.In total, the Dodgers managed just four hits, two from Freddie Freeman, one from Max Muncy, and one from Miguel Rojas, and have now scored just one run over their last 18 innings.Giants starter Tyler Mahle took full advantage, tossing seven scoreless innings and allowing only three hits. He faced little resistance all night, needing only to avoid mistakes, something the Dodgers never forced him into.San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle (54) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.
Stan Szeto-Imagn ImagesSan Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle (54) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.The game turned the moment Ohtani exited.Jack Dreyer entered in the seventh and immediately ran into trouble, surrendering back-to-back singles to open the inning. After getting ahead of Patrick Bailey with four straight sliders, Dreyer went back to the well one too many times. The fifth slider caught too much of the plate, and Bailey didn’t miss it, launching a three-run homer.Just like that, a scoreless duel became a deficit the Dodgers had no chance of overcoming.There was visible emotion from Ohtani earlier in the night, a roar and fist pump after stranding runners in scoring position with a strikeout of Casey Schmitt, but by the end, the Dodgers’ dugout was quiet.A dominant outing wasted.
A historic streak snapped. And an offense searching for answers.The Dodgers will turn to Tyler Glasnow on Thursday afternoon to try to avoid a sweep, with San Francisco countering with Logan Webb.