For the eighth time this summer, Shohei Ohtani will both hit and pitch in the same game. Every double-duty outing is worth watching, but his Los Angeles Dodgers are just 4-3 in these spots, and Ohtani is coming off his worst start of the season. He left Cincinnati last week with cramping in his right hip, but avoided injury and was cleared to keep throwing. Even after those rough few innings, Ohtani carries a 2.40 ERA … while leading the National League in runs, slugging and OPS. Let’s see how he looks in a Wednesday matinee with the St. Louis Cardinals.

How to watch Cardinals at Dodgers
Venue: Dodger Stadium — Los Angeles
Time: 4:10 p.m. ET, Wednesday
TV: MLB.TV and MLB Network (national); SportsNet LA and FDSN Midwest (local)
Streaming: Fubo ($20 off)
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.

The reigning and presumed MVP had some trouble against the Reds. He allowed season highs in hits (5), walks (2) and earned runs (2). That outing ended … awkwardly, and in the middle of an at-bat:

Ohtani The Pitcher did bump is K/9 mark up to an impressive 10.2, and he notched eight swinging strikes in 53 pitches. Ohtani The Batter is on a whiff streak, with a dispiriting nine strikeouts across his first five games of August. He hit .204 in July, but slugged nine homers in 24 games. Before their 12-6 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday night, L.A.’s offense as a whole had been tremendously underwhelming of late, ranking 29th (!) in slugging percentage in the previous 30 days. The only team trailing them in that metric was the Tampa Bay Rays, whose payroll is almost four times smaller.

The Dodgers still sit atop the NL West, but the San Diego Padres are heating up and mounting a charge. Their Wednesday opponents come in at fourth place in a crowded NL Central, but a resurgent stretch would put the Cardinals in striking distance for a final wild-card spot. St. Louis’ front office sold at the trade deadline, though the core of Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras and Victor Scott II has enough punch to threaten an upset at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers are good at home, but they’ve been all kinds of inconsistent this summer.

Matthew Liberatore (6-9, 3.96 ERA) is the Cardinals pitcher to counter Ohtani. He comes in at the 96 percentile for off-speed run value, and has shown strong command over a six-pitch arsenal that includes a sinker and cutter.

Updated odds

Most home runs in both jerseys
Albert Pujols, 481 (469 STL, 12 LAD)
Ken Boyer, 261 (255 STL, 6 LAD)
Pedro Guerrero, 215 (171 LAD, 44 STL)
Joe Medwick, 190 (152 STL, 38 LAD)
Willie Davis, 160 (154 LAD, 6 STL)

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(Photo of Shohei Ohtani: Harry How / Getty Images)