Shohei Ohtani Calls Out His Own Performance Despite Leadoff HR, Dodgers' Win vs. Rockies

Shohei Ohtani was not happy with his performance against the Colorado Rockies despite hitting a leadoff home run and throwing six no-hit innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-1 win on Wednesday.

"I was just battling the lack of command I had throughout the night," Ohtani told reporters via an interpreter after the win.

Ohtani was visibly frustrated after hitting Rockies batter Hunter Goodman with a pitch in the fourth inning, during which the Rockies later scored on an RBI fielder's choice groundout.

Ohtani finished the game having thrown 56 strikes on 99 pitches, striking out seven batters but walking four through six innings.

"I think I could have pitched deeper into the game if I gave up hits," Ohtani said Wednesday through his interpreter. "It's just the walks lead to shorter outings, and I would prefer to take the days where I get hit a little bit but still be efficient rather than walking and just not being able to pitch deeper into the game."

Ohtani continued, "It's just the feel, when something's off offensively, defensively, I could tell. I just couldn't really find it."

Even on an off night, Ohtani recorded a historic performance for the Dodgers, starting with his 424-foot home run in the bottom of the first and ending with the flyout that closed out a sixth inning without a hit.

Rockies vs. Dodgers (05/27/2026)

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Ohtani is the only MLB pitcher to have recorded a leadoff home run, per MLB's Sarah Langs.

He's now done it three times, including in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers and during his last start on May 20 against the San Diego Padres, per Langs.

Ohtani is also the first pitcher to hit a home run and allow no runs through five innings since Madison Bumgarner in 2017, per Langs.

Wednesday's victory also dropped his ERA to 0.82, marking the ninth-lowest average heading into June since 1913 among players with at least 50 innings pitched, per ESPN Insights.

Ohtani's presence in the lineup Wednesday was a relief for the Dodgers after he got hit in the right hand by a Kyle Freeland pitch during Tuesday's matchup against the Rockies.

The two-way star will once more return to the top of the Dodgers' batting order when Justin Wrobleski starts during Friday's weekend series opener against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.