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MLB News & Moments: Shohei Ohtani Homers and Earns a W

Shohei dominates with his arm and his bat.

Pablo Figueroa
MLB Morning News 3 Hours Ago

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Doing it All

Recently, the Dodgers opted to keep Shohei Ohtani off the lineup on days he pitched, which took away some of the sheen from his two-way brilliance. Inserted back as the DH-P, Ohtani wasted no time showing he can multitask, hitting a true lead-off homer to give himself a lead before even taking the mound. That run could have been enough, as Shohei was again dominant with his arm, keeping the Padres scoreless through five innings, with four strikeouts. This lowered his ERA to a microscopic 0.73, as he creeps closer to being qualified for the MLB leaderboards and ready to battle for the elusive NL Cy Young. While the lead-off homer set the tone, the Dodgers also scored steadily from there on, cruising to a nice 4-0 win.

Somethin’ Brewin’ 

While the Cubs started the season on a hot streak and seemed invincible at home, the Brewers just made a statement to remind them they are the class of the NL Central. Following a 5-0 shutout, Milwaukee earned an emphatic series sweep at Wrigley Field, as they managed to outscore the Cubs 19 to 5 over the three-game set. The finale win was propelled by yet another step in the Kyle Harrison renaissance, as the lefty completed seven scoreless innings with only two hits and a walk allowed, against 11 strikeouts. While the NL Cy Young race is crowded, Harrison is gearing towards some down-ballot votes, as he now owns a 1.77 ERA and an impressive 11.62 K/9. Milwaukee’s offense only managed two RBI and one extra-base hit in this game, but they took advantage of three Cubs errors and the early exit of starter Edward Cabrera due to blister issues.

Battle of the Aces

Wednesday’s premier pitching duel took its time to get going, as a 2 hour, 11 minute delay derailed some early plans at the Bronx. It quickly became irrelevant as Trey Yesavage and Cam Schlittler gave the New York crowd quite the show. Both teams were deadlocked on a scoreless game through six innings, as both pitchers took different approaches to their dominance. Schlittler navigated a bend-don’t-break mode all game long, as he had traffic on the bases in all innings except the second. Meanwhile, Yesavage was relentless in his performance, allowing only two hits over six frames. The Blue Jays would finally break through in the seventh, as three straight singles loaded the bases for Andrés Giménez, who battled through an 11-pitch at-bat to earn the walk and drive in the first run of the game. As Schlittler finally exited, an extra runner would come to score, handing him only the second loss of 2026. While closer Louis Varland made things interesting in the ninth by allowing a run and having the tying run on second, he managed to close out the game, giving Toronto a much-needed 2-1 win. It became only the second win for Yesavage this season, but he has shown no signs of slowing down after the injury that delayed his season debut. His ERA stands at 1.07.

Big Red Machine

It is often said that getaway games are low-scoring as both teams just want to go home and have some rest. It seems that the Reds did not get the memo, instead opting for a game full of offense that at least ended with a happy flight back to Cincinnati. It all started with a three-run second that set the tone of the game, as it was clear that Philly starter Aaron Nola was struggling. Nola would exit after five innings and four runs allowed, but the Reds would not stop there, scoring five more times to earn an impressive 9-4 victory and a series win against the red-hot Phillies. While the two bats at the top of the order, Matt McLain and Elly de la Cruz, combined to go 0-for-10 with four Ks, the rest of the offense more than made up for it, with six starters garnering multi-hit games. Sal Stewart was the best of them, with a 4-for-5 performance that yielded a homer, three runs and two RBI. Overall, the Reds ended with 15 hits, with seven of them going for extra bases.

Come Sale Away

As the AL-best Rays are probably known for winning by doing the little things right, the NL-best Atlanta continues to win emphatically, clobbering the Marlins for the second straight night. The run support came only in two innings, as Austin Riley and Domonic Smith had three-run homers to provide plenty of support for Chris Sale, who continued his stellar season with an impressive line of only one run allowed over seven innings. Miami was simply dominated by the lefty, as the Fish could only muster four singles and had a lone at-bat with runners in scoring position, with Sale needing only 96 pitches to complete his gem. As mentioned with Kyle Harrison, Sale will probably need to keep this going to be part of the crowded NL Cy Young race, but at this point, it seems that Atlanta would be better served by keeping him fresh for the playoffs.

 

By The Numbers

 

21 With the Rays winning 21 of their last 25 games, they continue to have the best winning percentage in MLB. On the other hand, six teams have not even reached 21 for the full season.

1/1 As it is customary, Shohei Ohtani made some history last night. He became the first starting pitcher to hit a lead-off homer in the regular season, after he had already achieved this in the last postseason.

43 Nick Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 43 games, getting a single and two walks in a win against the Angels. He is now tied for third in A’s history for single-season on-base streaks, and only trails Jimmie Foxx (47) and Mark McGwire (48).

6 With Jacob Young of the Nationals hit his sixth home run of the season. This number is higher than the rest of his combined career, as he had only five between 2023 and 2025, totaling 303 games and 1,006 plate appearances.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Rich Richie

In one of Wednesday’s matinees, the Rays continued their hot play with an impressive comeback win over the Orioles. As it usually happens with Tampa Bay, several unheralded players made key contributions. Catcher Hunter Feduccia hit his first career homer to open the scoring, while veterans Steven Matz and Jesse Scholtens piggy-backed with four innings apiece, as the Orioles took a late 3-1 lead in what looked like a win to salvage the series. Instead, the Rays mounted a four-run rally in the eighth, capped by an unlikely hero in Richie Palacios. Swinging on a 3-0 pitch, Palacios drove in the winning run and celebrated accordingly, adding to the notion that this team is having fun like no other. The 5-3 win became the 21st over their past 25 games.

Verdict: Awesome Birthday

Despite some recent bizarre incidents involving adults and baseballs in the stands, the nature of the game always indicates that all foul balls and homers should go to the nearest kid. Aaron Judge went out of his way to preserve this baseball tradition, tossing a souvenir/birthday gift to a young fan in the stands with a sign that politely requested it. And so, a life-long memory was created.

Sliding into Your DMs*

A 7-0 final score could indicate that the Pirates simply steamrolled the Cardinals in game three of their series, but that would miss an important detail. With Pittsburgh leading 3-0, the Cardinals had the bases loaded as Cesar Prieto unleashed what should have been his first hit of the season. However, Jake Mangum had other plans, as the tracked the ball expertly and slid at the warning track, preventing a sure bases-clearing double and preserving the shutout. As the Pirates would add on and cruise to victory, Mangum’s web gem became the turning point of the contest.

*defensive Magnum

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Toronto starting pitcher José Berríos underwent Tommy John surgery, putting a rough ending point to an unexpected injury saga that started this offseason. While Berrios had been known for his durability, he missed last season’s playoff run and deteriorated following the WBC, as he was not able to make it through a rehab assignment. Following the surgery, Berrios will be out this year and likely miss most, if not all, of the 2027 season. 

⚾ Cubs starting pitcher Edward Cabrera left last night’s game in the fourth inning due to a middle finger blister. He took the loss after falling behind 4-0, but his status will be important to monitor, as Chicago has almost a rotation full of pitchers already on the IL. A timetable for his return should be provided shortly.

⚾ The Angels have outrighted Alek Manoah to AAA, meaning that he cleared waivers and no team claimed him. This is the latest fall from grace for Manoah, whose 2022 season continues to be a long lost memory, as he finished third in AL Cy Young voting. His career since has gone from promising to disastrous, as not even pitching for a low-pressure team like the Angels was enough to produce a bounceback. While he could still be used by the big league club, it will likely be as a mop-up bullpen arm.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Elly de la Cruz Does it Right — Ryan Blake, Fangraphs

How CJ Abrams Ruins Pitcher Debuts — Jessica Camerato, MLB.com

 

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Pablo Figueroa

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Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

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