Dodgers erupt behind Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy to beat Nationals
LOS ANGELES — They clustered around the railings above the Dodgers’ bullpen long before the opening pitch Sunday afternoon, standing five, 10 and maybe 15 deep in some places. All so they could catch a glimpse of Shohei Ohtani’s warmup tosses before he faced the Washington Nationals.
Dodgers fans roared when Ohtani took the mound for his second start of 2025. They roared again when he departed after striking out two during one scoreless inning of work during an eventual 13-7 victory over the Nationals. He didn’t give up a run, and he didn’t top 100 mph, as he did in his first start.
Ohtani threw 18 pitches, the fastest clocked at 98.8 mph.
It would have been only 11 pitches, but shortstop Mookie Betts dropped James Wood’s popup that soared into a cloudless sky with one out in the first. Wood then advanced to second base on a wild pitch, but was stranded after Ohtani struck out Luis Garcia Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe to end the inning.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he considered allowing Ohtani to pitch the second inning, but when Betts’ error extended the first, it was time to make a pitching change. Right-hander Ben Casparius (6-1) replaced Ohtani and gave up three runs and five hits over five innings.
“I think we were going to remain at one inning, regardless,” Roberts said. “But it did cross my mind.”
In the end, nearer to the end, it was Ohtani’s hitting rather than his pitching that brought a crowd of 48,177 to its feet. He slugged a three-run triple in the Dodgers’ seven-run seventh inning and then hit a two-run homer in the eighth as the Dodgers turned a three-run deficit into a runaway victory.
“He’s a unicorn,” Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said of Ohtani.
Max Muncy homered twice, including a sixth-inning grand slam that put the Dodgers up 4-3.
All things considered, it was another step on Ohtani’s road to becoming a valuable addition to the Dodgers’ rotation, with the two-position superstar coming along slowly but certainly. It remained to be determined Sunday when he might pitch again or whether his outings would be extended.
Roberts indicated Ohtani’s next start most likely would be for only one inning, however.
Ohtani also pitched one inning in the Dodgers’ victory June 16 over the San Diego Padres, his first appearance on the mound since undergoing elbow surgery 21 months ago and 22 months since he last pitched for the Angels. He gave up two hits and one run in 28 pitches against the Padres.
“Overall, I was able to relax much better compared to my last outing,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I’m looking forward to adding more innings and more pitches.”
Said Roberts of Ohtani: “Considerably better today as far as the stuff, the life of the fastball, the command of his pitches and much better. So, overall, a really good outing.”
When he left the mound Sunday, Ohtani exchanged his glove for a bat, and promptly struck out to start the bottom of the first inning. He would strike out again to end the third, with Rushing at second base after a walk and a balk by Washington starter Michael Soroka.
The Nationals staked Soroka to a 3-0 lead on Lowe’s three-run homer in the third, a ball that glanced off the glove of center fielder Hyeseong Kim, the top of the fence in left-center and then the outstretched hands of a fan before falling to the field. At first, it was ruled a two-run double for Lowe.
But, after an extended video replay, Lowe was credited with a homer, his 13th.
The Nationals’ lead didn’t last long, though. Soroka departed after a career-high 10 strikeouts and the Dodgers rallied for a 4-3 lead on Muncy’s grand slam off reliever Jose Ferrer (2-3) in the sixth. Ohtani’s three-run triple off reliever Ryan Loutos then extended the Dodgers’ lead to 7-3.
Muncy then followed with a three-run homer off Cole Henry in the seventh to make it 11-3, his third career seven-RBI game. Suddenly, a tight game had turned into a blowout victory for the Dodgers, who ended their 10-game homestand with a 7-3 mark before a day off Monday.
In the eighth, Ohtani hit his 26th homer of the season, and position player Kiké Hernandez was summoned to pitch the ninth with the Dodgers leading 13-3. As they did when Ohtani went to the mound to start the game, Dodgers fans stood and cheered as Hernandez walked from the bullpen.