Shohei Ohtani makes up for offense struggles by lowering already-minuscule ERA

Shohei Ohtani can do whatever he wants on the baseball field.

Hit 50 home runs? Certainly. Stole 50 bases? You got it. Are they both in the same season? Sounds good.

Leading the field in earned run average? If you say so.

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The two-way star for the Los Angeles Dodgers is simply not living up to the expectations he set for himself; He has a lifetime OPS of .951, hitting an OPS over 1.000 in three straight years and hitting 54 and 55 homers in each of the last two seasons, respectively.

This has been a bad year so far for Ohtani, who is hitting .240 with a .796 OPS. Excluding the shortened 2020 season, these would be the lowest marks of his career.

But he certainly makes up for it on the mound.

After pitching seven scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, Ohtani is now pitching to an MLB-best 0.82 ERA.

Ohtani has allowed just four earned runs on the season, half of which came against the Houston Astros’ potent offense in 44.0 innings earlier this month.

Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

CAL RALEIGH ENDED HIS 0-38 SERIES WITH NON-ORTHODOX PEACE BELIEVERS INCLUDING HIS FULL UNIFORM

“The ideal situation is to be excellent on both sides of the ball,” Ohtani said after the Dodgers’ 4-0 victory over their NL West rivals. Athletic. “But my perspective is that if I’m not contributing offensively, then I know I can contribute on the pitching side and vice versa. So I take it that way.”

“He wants to be the best pitcher in baseball and he’s doing that right now,” manager Dave Roberts added. “You could tell he was extremely focused on the preparation part, and of course the execution when he started.”

Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 and returned to the mound last summer, pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts amid his 1.014 OPS, his fourth MVP in the last five seasons.

The Dodgers have been wary of Ohtani’s workload, sometimes keeping him as a pitcher only this season, understandably because it’s well known that his offensive numbers take a hit when he’s on the mound.

“It’s interesting because there was a lot of talk last year about him not pitching and just being a hitter,” Roberts said. “Now the tables have turned. I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind, but I feel clear about how we manage him. There’s no one way to do it. You just try to be fluid and react and respond to how he’s feeling.”

But at least the Dodgers have the best pitcher in baseball this season and he’s at the top of his roster. It’s similar to the pre-DH era, except the pitcher gets to bat first instead of in the ninth.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani throws in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

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And it shouldn’t surprise anyone if and when Ohtani finds the bat as he mows down everyone he faces from 60 feet, 6 inches away.

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