PITTSBURGH — For the first time this season, Shohei Ohtani watched his manager walk out of the dugout to pull him mid-inning.
On a humid night at PNC Park, in a 9-8 loss, Ohtani pitched into the seventh inning against the Pirates. But Brandon Lowe’s two-out, two-run double cut the Dodgers’ lead to three.
And as manager Dave Roberts gathered the Dodgers infield around him, Ohtani made the long walk to the dugout, pushing up his cap to wipe the sweat from his brow on the way.
Ohtani’s performance was enough to leave the mound with the lead, which the Dodgers bullpen surrendered. But in a near-flawless season on the mound, it was his worst start of the year.
Ohtani gave up three earned runs for the first time all season, along with a season-high six hits. That took his ERA from 0.74 to 1.06 And his ninth-inning home run came too late to save the day. It was his third time homering in a game he pitched this season.
Ohtani also came inches away from homering in the third inning. The opposite-field drive sent Pirates left-fielder Bryan Reynolds leaping into the padded wall. As the fans beyond it jumped to their feet with their hands raised, Reynolds reached over and squeezed his glove shut around what would have been the go-ahead home run.
That’s how much of Ohtani’s day went — solid by most standards, but not his.
Tyler Callihan is greeted by Pirates teammates after his three-run home in the eighth inning.
(Gene J. Puskar / AP)
Ohtani infamously has another level he can reach in leverage situations. And he demonstrated that ability in the first three innings, though he allowed baserunners in each.
After giving up a single and walking a batter to begin his start, Ohtani struck out Reynolds on a 100.2-mph fastball. And after hitting Reynolds with a sweeper in the third inning, he induced Ryan O’Hearn to line out on a 100.3-mph fastball.
Ohtani successfully navigated traffic, despite a wide throw to second on a comebacker in the second inning, without allowing a run until the fourth.
With two out, Ohtani challenged 25-year-old Tyler Callihan with a first-pitch fastball. Callihan sent it not only over the Clemente wall, but soaring all the way over the right-field stands for his first major-league home run.
It was only the third home run Ohtani has surrendered this season. The other two came in his start in Houston a little over a month ago.
The Dodgers (43-25) responded with a first for rookie Ryan Ward.
The Dodgers had a narrow lead after a two-run rally in the fourth, powered by the heart of the order. But Ward made it more far more comfortable when he stepped up to the plate with two out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning, jumped on a first-pitch sweeper, and recorded the first grand slam of his major league career.
The Dodgers, it turned out, would need more than that wiggle room.
Ohtani’s seventh inning got off to an inauspicious start. He battled Callihan for eight pitches and walked him to lead off the frame.
Then a looping curveball got Jake Mangum to bounce a swinging bunt up the third-base line. But by the time Ohtani got to it, Mangum was almost to first. Ohtani held the throw.
Ohtani buckled down, throwing mostly breaking stuff to Jared Triolo and Spencer Horwitz to strike out both looking. But Ohtani didn’t quite make it out of the inning. Lowe stayed aggressive in a 3-0 count, and it paid off, trimming the Dodgers’ lead to 6-3.
Reliever Alex Vesia finished the inning for Ohtani, but not before a fielding error by third baseman Max Muncy gave the Pirates another run.
The game unraveled in the eighth, as Callihan homered again — this time off reliever Kyle Hurt for three runs and the lead — and Horwitz added a two-run blast off lefty Jack Dreyer.
Ohtani’s two-run homer the next inning cut the lead to one.
Will Smith update
The Dodgers are likely to put catcher Will Smith on the injured list Thursday, as the stiffness in his neck continues to linger.
“There’s been some improvement,” Roberts said. “We’ll have to make that decision at some point in time [Wednesday] after the game.”
The Dodgers’ game against the Pirates on Wednesday was the fourth Smith had missed since being scratched from the lineup Saturday with a stiff neck. Teams can backdate IL moves a maximum of three days.
Dalton Rushing is scheduled to catch all three games in Pittsburgh, Roberts said, but the Dodgers will likely add a backup to the roster on Thursday. In the meantime, Smith could catch in an emergency situation.
The Dodgers have already cleared a spot on the 40-man roster, releasing utility man Tyler Fitzgerald on Wednesday. He had a .998 OPS in 24 games with triple-A Oklahoma City.
Unless the Dodgers bring in additional catching depth from the outside, their options in triple-A are Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson. Roberts downplayed the challenge of integrating a catcher midseason.
“We had Chuckie last year, and we had Eliezer all spring,” Roberts said. “So both those guys are confident. They’re kind of a little older, so they’ve been around, and we’re very familiar with both those guys, so it should be pretty seamless.”