'Embarrassing,' Shohei Ohtani Needing to Call Own Pitches Addressed by Dodgers Catcher Rushing

Shohei Ohtani is generally thought of as a do-it-all player because of his ability as a pitcher and hitter, but the four-time MVP truly had to carry the way in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins due to catcher Dalton Rushing's struggles behind the plate.

Rushing, who has become the primary catcher with Will Smith currently on the injured list, summed up his defense as "embarrassing" so much that Ohtani was essentially calling his own pitches.

'Good thing he's as good as he is and he can take control of the game, but it's pretty embarrassing," Rushing told reporters. "They've always got my back. Once again, it's embarrassing that I need support like that. I'm a grown man, and it's a pretty tough pill to swallow."

Dodgers vs. Twins (06/24/2026)

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Ryan Kreidler's at-bat in the bottom of the second summed up a lot of the issues Rushing had. It started with Ohtani successfully challenging a pitch originally called a ball, even though Rushing's reaction shows he did not think it was good decision.

The next pitch was a fastball from Ohtani that hit off Rushing's glove and went to the backstop, allowing a run to score. Kreidler finished the plate appearance with a two-run single that put the Twins up 3-1.

Speaking through interpreter Will Ireton after the game, Ohtani explained what happened on the cross-up that led to the passed ball.

"There were two pitches called," Ohtani said. "The first one was offspeed. The second pitch was a fastball. Rush thought that he was getting an offspeed because I started moving after the first pitch was called, but what I had in mind was the second pitch, which was a fastball."

Despite the issues, Ohtani was very diplomatic about it by acknowledging both he and Rushing can do better to get on the same page:

"The in-game flexibility, reading the swings, reading how the hitters are really taking their approach during the game — that's how I see what adjustment needs to happen. In that sense, I personally realized we just have to be better at being on the same page and communicating throughout the game."

Ohtani's challenge was one thing that really stood out from that entire sequence because in this new ABS era the pitcher challenge is not frequently used. It's often left up to the catcher to decide because they see it at an angle similar to the home-plate umpire.

Of the 4,977 challenges issued this season, pitchers only account for 100 of them. Their 35.0 percent success rate is worse than catchers (59.2 percent) and hitters (47.3).

Things did calm down for Rushing and the Dodgers after that one inning. Ohtani allowed three runs (two earned) with eight strikeouts over six innings on the mound. He also went 2-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored at the plate.

Ohtani's ERA now sits at 1.58 in 79.2 innings, while his slash line is up to .295/.414/.549 with 17 homers in 340 plate appearances.

The Dodgers (52-29) have won three straight games. They are nine games up on the San Diego Padres in the NL West, the largest division lead for any team in MLB.