MINNEAPOLIS — Shohei Ohtani was done trying to make the back-and-forth work.
He and catcher Dalton Rushing had struggled to get in sync for the first two innings Wednesday — from pitch-calling, to ABS challenges, to a crossup that cost the Dodgers a run. So, Ohtani took matters into his own hands.
“There’s really a couple ways of communicating,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after the Dodgers’ 4-3 win against the Minnesota Twins. “One is by words, but the other way to be able to communicate is by example, and just taking the charge and showing Rush what kind of pitching style I’m capable of.”
After a three-run (two earned) second inning, Ohtani supplied his own run support with an RBI single that spurred the Dodgers’ game-winning rally, and then took over pitch-calling duties on the mound.
Ohtani didn’t allow another run, through the sixth.
“I didn’t do a great job from start to finish,” said Rushing, who returned to the lineup Wednesday after being removed from Monday’s game to rule out a concussion. “Pretty embarrassing. Thankfully he’s as good as he is and he can take control of the game.”
The dysfunction reached a peak with the bases loaded in the second inning.
The Dodgers (52-29) had a one-run lead thanks to Mookie Betts’ solo homer off Twins ace Joe Ryan in the top half of the inning. The 300th home run of Betts’ career was part of a three-hit day for the shortstop, who was a triple shy of the cycle.
Ohtani then gave up singles to three of the first four batters he faced in the bottom of the second. And Ryan Kreidler stepped up to the plate.
Two consecutive pitch calls put the battery on separate pages for the first pitch of the at-bat.
“Rush thought that he was getting an offspeed because I started moving after the first pitch was called,” Ohtani said. “But what I had in mind was the second pitch … which was a fastball.”
Rushing didn’t have enough time to react, as the fastball zipped to the inside edge of the plate, off the end of Rushing’s mitt, and out of play. The Twins’ first run crossed the plate.
“Shohei and I talked about it,” Rushing said. “It was an error on my side. I messed it up. It was my fault.”
Pitching coach Mark Prior walked out to the mound to huddle with Ohtani and Rushing.
Two pitches later, Ohtani’s sweeper clipped the bottom of the strike zone but was called a ball. Ohtani, who had held back from challenging a call earlier in the game, adamantly tapped the top of his hat before Rushing could motion that he thought the pitch was low.
Ohtani, again taking matters into his own hands, was right — by 0.3 inches, according to Statcast.
Mookie Betts celebrates his 300th career home run as he runs the bases Wednesday.
(Matt Krohn / AP)
“There’s really two factors,” Ohtani said of how he weighs challenging versus leaving the decision to the catcher. “The first one is confidence level, how confident I feel that I can overturn a call. But I think most importantly, it’s situational. Regardless if I get it right or wrong, what matters is flipping the result and whether that has an impact with the game or not.”
The successful challenge gave Ohtani count advantage. But he gave up a two-run single to Kreidler, before striking out Trevor Larnach to end the inning.
It was a good thing Ohtani, who went 2-for-5 on Wednesday, had lobbied to hit and pitch. Dodgers No. 9 hitter Alex Freeland led off the third with a double. Then Ohtani sent a ground ball up the middle to cut the Twins’ lead to one run.
That was the first run of a three-run rally for the Dodgers. Max Muncy later drove in Ohtani, and Alex Call contributed a sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers a lead again.
As the top of the third played out, Dodgers veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman, Prior and Roberts all sat down with Rushing for conversations in the dugout.
“That’s all I was trying to do, was just keep him focused on not letting his emotions get the best of him, whether it be at bat or, Shohei’s trying to figure some things out,” Roberts said. “Just not losing sight of his job, and that’s to serve. He understood it. But he’s an emotional guy.”
Said Rushing: “They always have my back. Once again, it’s embarrassing that I need support like that. I’m a grown man. It’s a pretty tough pill to swallow, both sides of the ball. Not a great showing. It hasn’t been great as of late. I’m going to get better.”
Rushing was back behind the plate in the bottom half of the third. And Ohtani, in full control of the game plan, sailed through the rest of his outing.
“In an ideal world, where I want to be is, for both of us to pitch in and really be able to shine,” Ohtani said. “Because we have very different talents. But ideally that’s the goal I want to go towards.”
They may get another shot at it next week, with starting catcher Will Smith still on the IL with a neck injury. Roberts confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the team still had no plans to have Smith join them on the three-city trip.
“Dalton’s our starting catcher,” Roberts said.