Shohei Ohtani, sticking to pitching, gives up first home runs as Astros beat him
Shohei Ohtani absorbed his second loss of the season − and gave up his first and second home runs this year − as the Astros held off the Dodgers 2-1.
Shohei Ohtani is no longer unsullied by the longball this season. Yet he was still pretty outstanding against the Houston Astros . Ohtani absorbed his second loss of the season − and gave up his first and second home runs this year − as the Astros held off the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Tuesday, May 5 at Houston's Daikin Park.
It's Ohtani, so that also means even in defeat, superlatives are involved. And Ohtani worked a season-high seven innings − his longest outing since July 27, 2023, when he pitched a one-hitter − and took over the major league ERA lead. His Tuesday outing ensured he had enough innings to qualify, and Ohtani's 0.
97 ERA is the only mark below 1. 00 among qualified starters. He's holding opposing batters to a .
160 average, bested only by teammate Tyler Glasnow's . 146 mark. On this night, though, a train-tracks bomb from Christian Walker and an opposite-field wall-scraper from Braden Shewmake into Houston's Crawford Boxes were enough to beat him.