Shohei Ohtani Hit Another Level After Allowing 1st Earned Run

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Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani didn’t get to hit Wednesday night, but he made up for it with a dominant performance on the mound.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though.

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Apr 15, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani reacts against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ohtani gave up his first earned run of the season in the fifth inning, and he could’ve given up several more if he hadn’t pitched his way out of a jam.

How did the Mets score a run on Shohei Ohtani?​

Ohtani walked two batters and gave up a hit in the first three batters of the inning, though he was saved by a bit of confusion on the base paths by the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez.

With one out and men on first and second, though, MJ Melendez hit a ground-rule double, sending Carson Benge home to score and Marcus Semien to third base.

All of the sudden, the Dodgers were only up 2-1, and the Mets were threatening to tie or even take the lead.

How did Shohei Ohtani get out of the jam?​

With his back against the wall, Ohtani turned it up a notch.

Before the next two at-bats against Tommy Pham and Francisco Lindor, Ohtani’s four-seam fastball had been about 96 or 97 mph for the most part.

For four straight fastballs to Pham and Lindor, though, he threw noticeably harder: 100.2 mph, 100.3 mph, 100.1 mph and 100.4 mph.

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A strikeout and a lineout later, Ohtani was out of the inning, and the Mets were held to just one run, and the runners on second and third were stranded.

Ohtani turned it up a notch after Mets scored a run​

As detailed by Katie Woo of The Athletic, Ohtani admitted that he decided to increase his power given the situation.

“Just added a little more intensity after they scored a run,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But overall, it felt really nice and easy and loose throughout the whole outing. So I think that’s the reason why I threw a little harder.”

Ohtani added that he “can’t go full throttle the whole time,” but in this instance, it was called for.

“But considering where the game was at that point, I felt like I just really had to go full throttle and consider the game situation,” he said.

As a result, Ohtani is 2-0 so far in 2026 and his ERA remains an otherworldly 0.50, good for best in the National League.

In 18 innings of work in three games, he’s allowed only seven hits and walked only six batters. As for strikeouts, he has 18, averaging one per inning.

And though Melendez came close, no one has hit a homer off of Ohtani this year.

Do you think Ohtani can keep up the stellar pitching over the course of the season?

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