Shohei Ohtani Reacts to Leadoff HR, 5 Scoreless IP from Dodgers' Win vs. Fernando Tatis, Padres

It turns out Shohei Ohtani can still hit well on days when he is pitching, as evidenced by him going 2-for-4 with a leadoff homer in addition to throwing five shutout innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters through an interpreter after the victory, Ohtani actually wasn't totally satisfied with how he played despite the end result.

"The results were good, as you saw," Ohtani said, "but the process wasn't that great."

Ohtani, who was hitting in the same game he pitched for the first time since April 22, gave himself a 1-0 lead with a solo homer off Padres starter Randy Vásquez on the first pitch of the game.

Dodgers vs. Padres (05/20/2026)

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"I do compartmentalize the hitting and pitching portions," Ohtani explained. "At least that's my intention."

After a slow stretch at the plate from April 13 through May 11 in which he had a .200/.321/.300 slash line in 107 plate appearances, Ohtani looks to be back on track. The four-time MVP is hitting .481/.588/.926 over his last eight games.

One reason Ohtani wasn't completely happy with how he played was racking up a high pitch count early. He only made it through five innings after throwing 88 pitches, recording four strikeouts and two walks.

Ohtani's five innings against the Padres marked his fewest in a start this season. His four strikeouts were his second-fewest, ahead of only an April 8 outing against the Toronto Blue Jays when he punched out two in six innings.

It was hardly a bad outing because Ohtani still didn't give up a run, lowering his ERA to 0.73 in 49.0 innings. He doesn't technically qualify for the ERA title at the moment because MLB rules require starters to throw at least one inning per team game, and the Dodgers played their 50th game on Wednesday.

Among pitchers with at least 40 innings, Ohtani does lead the league in ERA. In fact, he could double his current mark and still be atop the list at that threshold. New York Yankees rookie Cam Schlitter is officially in atop the ERA leaderboard at 1.50 in 66.0 innings.

The Dodgers have won seven of their last eight games, including the final two in the series against the Padres. They have opened up a lead of 1.5 games over San Diego in the NL West.

Next up for Ohtani and the Dodgers is a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers starting on Friday at American Family Field. This will be their first meeting since the 2025 NLCS that the Dodgers won in a 4-0 sweep.