"It's good to finally put a W on the board" - Shohei Ohtani opens up after leading Dodgers past Giants with flaming fastballs

Shohei Ohtani and the LA Dodgers finally have a win to their name after the National League West leaders defeated the San Francisco Giants on Saturday to end an unprecedented seven-game losing streak.

It was the Dodgers' longest losing streak since 2017, and it took a strong pitching effort by Ohtani, who has returned to his two-way role this season.

The three-time MVP pitched three innings on Saturday for the first time since returning to the mound. Ohtani pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four Giants hitters. His outing was highlighted by a 99.9 mph fastball in a 12-pitch first inning.

Following the game, Ohtani expressed relief at ending the losing streak that included consecutive series sweeps.

"Throughout the losing streak, we played pretty good games in there, too," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "It's good to finally put a 'W' on the board. I hope that this is the beginning of a bunch of wins to come."

Shohei Ohtani's scoreless three innings were followed by 4.1 innings from Emmet Sheehan, who allowed just one run to keep the Giants at bay, helping the Dodgers to a 2-1 win.

Shohei Ohtani sets the standard on the field, per Dodgers teammate

The Dodgers' two-way phenom is slowly but surely getting back to his groove on the mound, and catcher Dalton Rushing said it's the standards set by Shohei Ohtani to expect this kind of brilliance.

"It's kind of the standard, I guess you could say," rookie catcher Rushing said. "Not to put any more pressure on him as a player, but when he goes out there, that's what we expect of him, and I'm sure that's what he expects of himself."

While Ohtani was tidy from the mound, the reigning NL MVP wasn't able to replicate the same from the plate as he went 0-for-4 in a disappointing offensive showing. It was his teammate Michael Confronto's three-hit game that helped the Dodgers drive in two runs for a much-needed win.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash