KANSAS CITY — Shohei Ohtani is as soon as once more doing issues no one else has executed — together with himself.
In his third begin for the Dodgers on Saturday in opposition to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Ohtani induced a ground-ball double play off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino on a 101.7 mph four-seam fastball — the quickest pitch of his Main League profession. It was additionally the quickest pitch by a Dodger this season, as Ohtani now holds 4 of Los Angeles’ seven pitches north of 100 mph this 12 months after three extra in opposition to Kansas Metropolis in his two-inning begin.
He allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. earlier than strolling Maikel Garcia however escaped the jam on simply 14 pitches with the double play. That allowed the Dodgers, who went into the beginning wanting Ohtani to pitch a second inning, to let him run again out for his longest look since 2023 with the Angels.
Ohtani labored a 1-2-3 second body, together with selecting up his solely strikeout of the day with a sinker to Jac Caglianone, to finish two scoreless frames in his first highway begin since July 27, 2023, in Detroit.
The 2-way celebrity averaged 98.8 mph together with his fastball and acquired two whiffs on 4 swings together with his slider. On the plate, Ohtani struck out twice earlier than formally being taken out as a pitcher.
As with the earlier two Ohtani begins, Ben Casparius adopted in aid Saturday to tackle bulk innings.
