Mixed Bag for Shohei Ohtani on Pitching Return
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Ohtani Allows One Run on Pitching Return
Ippei Mizuhara Reports to US Prison
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Ohtani Allows One Run on Pitching Return
The two-way superstar allowed back-to-back singles to Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arráez before Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly to earn Tatis Jr. a run. Prior to that, he probably should have had a strikeout on Machado, who was ruled to have checked his swing on Ohtani's 1-2 sweeper. Ohtani threw 28 pitches — 16 for strikes — hitting 100.2 mph with his fourth seamer. He averaged 96.8 mph on nine fastballs. In the second inning, he was replaced by Anthony Banda.
Rather than entering the dugout, Ohtani put on his batting gloves near the railing and walked to the on-deck circle to get ready to lead off the bottom of the inning. He struck out against Padres starter Dylan Cease. Ohtani is the first National League player to start a game as a pitcher and also bat in the leadoff spot since Alvin Dark of the New York Giants in 1953.
In the third inning, Ohtani tied the score with an RBI double to left-center. He added another two-out hit as the Dodgers took a 6-2 lead in the fourth. Machado hit a leadoff homer in the sixth to reduce the deficit. There was no more scoring after that, though, as the National League West leaders won the game 6-3.
Ippei Mizuhara Reports to US Prison
On the same day that Ohtani made his pitching debut for the Dodgers, his former interpreter reported to federal prison in Pennsylvania. In February, Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for stealing close to $17 million from the Dodgers two-way global superstar to repay illegal gambling debts. He was also ordered to pay $18 million in restitution, with the majority going to Ohtani and $1.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Mizuhara is being held in a low-security prison in Allenwood. As he's not a US citizen, he's likely to be deported to Japan after completing his sentence. Between November 2021 and March 2024, the ex-interpreter misappropriated $16.59 million from one of Ohtani's accounts. He also stole baseball cards with the intention of reselling them and submitted a false tax return for 2022. Prosecutors claimed his motivation was 'greed' and 'not addiction.'
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Japan Today
15 hours ago
- Japan Today
Ohtani's big homer and Smith's 2 blasts help Dodgers end home woes with 5-2 win over Twins
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea) baseball By BETH HARRIS Shohei Ohtani hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the first after giving up a leadoff homer to fellow All-Star Byron Buxton, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Monday night. The NL West leaders snapped a six-game skid at home, their longest such streak at Dodger Stadium since September 2017. They were swept in three games by the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. Buxton sent Ohtani's second pitch of the game halfway up the left field pavilion. After Mookie Betts walked, Ohtani answered with a 441-foot blast to center that put the Dodgers in front, 2-1. The two-way Japanese superstar has homered in three straight games. Smith went deep twice off David Festa (3-4). Smith led off the fourth with a two-strike homer to center and followed with a 435-foot shot to left that made it 4-1. Andy Pages added a solo shot off reliever Cole Sands. Dustin May (6-6) took over from Ohtani, who allowed one run, four hits and struck out three in three innings. May gave up five hits in 4 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked three. Kirby Yates earned his third save. Freddie Freeman was in the lineup a day after being hit by a pitch on his left wrist in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Milwaukee. He was 1 for 4 with a strikeout. Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa went 0 for 5, getting booed heavily in every at-bat by Dodgers fans still angry about the 2017 World Series, when Correa played for Houston. He was robbed of a potential game-tying homer by James Outman at the center field wall in the ninth. Ohtani is the first pitcher to give up a homer and hit a homer in the first inning of the same game since Philadelphia's Randy Lerch in a 23-22 win over the Chicago Cubs on May 17, 1979. Twins RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 3.95 ERA) starts Tuesday against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8-7, 2.59). © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Asahi Shimbun
17 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
MLB/ Shohei Ohtani gives up his first homer of the season, then hits a 2-run shot of his own
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The Mainichi
a day ago
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Ohtani hits 34th home run but Dodgers suffer another loss
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