Shohei Ohtani did everything he could.
Somehow, the Los Angeles Dodgers still lost.
Ohtani put up a stats combination that had never been done before in MLB history, per OptaStats.
The four components:
- Hit a home run
- Strike out eight-plus batters
- Drive in more runs (2) than allowed (1)
- Draw more walks (1) than allowed (0)
It wasn’t enough. The St. Louis Cardinals won, 5-3.
MORE: Guardians’ Nic Enright reaches special personal milestone in comeback from cancer
Ohtani started the game on the mound and pitched the first four innings.
In that time, he allowed two hits and one run while striking out eight.
At the plate, Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run, a run scored and two RBI.
He allowed St. Louis to take the lead in the top of the third on a Brendan Donovan RBI bunt.
Ohtani took it right back in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run to center.
The Cardinals got one back in the sixth against the Dodgers’ bullpen, then added two in the eighth on a Jordan Walker single and the final in the ninth on a Lars Nootbaar double.
The Dodgers’ hits ended up being too spaced out in the order to do more damage.
MORE: Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement shows lifelong hitting ability in historic night for Toronto
Freddie Freeman had three hits in the cleanup spot, and Alex Call had two hits in the 8-hole, but there wasn’t much else happening.
Ohtani, back to almost full strength on the mound at this point, puts up lots of stat lines that have never been done before.
They’re all pretty hard to believe, but that’s how special a player he is.
On this day, it was even harder to believe that the Dodgers lost, too.
MORE MLB NEWS:
