Shohei Ohtani’s quest for Cy Young Award begins with 6 shutout innings as Dodgers beat Guardians

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani began his bid to win a Cy Young Award — just about the only major award that has eluded him — with six shutout innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first outing on the mound this season.

At the plate, the two-way superstar went 1-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout Tuesday night in a rainy 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

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The Dodgers have been waiting to see a full-time, two-way version of Ohtani since he joined them on a 10-year, $700 million contract before the 2024 season. He didn’t pitch that year as he was recovering from a second major elbow surgery in September 2023 while with the Los Angeles Angels.

Last season, the team took a methodical approach to its return to the mound. Ohtani was 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings over 14 starts. His fastball averaged a career-high 98.4 mph.

“Last year I felt good,” Ohtani said through a translator. “But this year I feel a lot looser and easier throwing overall. Looking back at today’s outing specifically, that wasn’t necessarily the case. So that’s something I want to work on. But compared to last season I felt looser and easier.”

Ohtani was limited to two spring training sessions for the Dodgers because he played – but did not pitch – for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

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Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts noted that Ohtani is more critical of himself as a pitcher than as a hitter.

“He will never be satisfied,” Roberts said. “There’s always something he can get better at or get better at and that’s what fuels him.”

Ohtani pitched 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in the regular season, dating back to Aug. 27, 2025, against Cincinnati, the longest shutout streak of his career. He bettered his previous high of 21 2/3 innings set in June 2022 with the Angels.

“If he can do that all year, it would be a huge boost for our pitching staff,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “I expect nothing less than almost a Cy Young from him.”

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Almost?

“I think he has enough pressure already,” Muncy said, “but it doesn’t seem to faze him at all.”

The only hit Ohtani allowed was a double by Rhys Hoskins in the fourth. The right-hander struck out six and walked three.

He was also successful in his first ABS challenge.

Ohtani retired his first seven batters before walking Gabriel Arias in the third. With two outs, he walked Steven Kwan to put runners on first and second. Ohtani was counting 1-1 on CJ Kayfus when he challenged a ball call. It was tipped, putting Ohtani ahead 1-2 in the count, and led to Kayfus swinging at his next pitch to end the third.

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A heavy drizzle picked up during Ohtani’s final two innings. The outfield crew tended the mound’s front slope, especially the landing spot, after he issued his third walk with two outs in the sixth. He used a metal tool to remove dirt from the bottom of his tips. Ohtani then retired Hoskins with a pitch to end the inning.

“He is unflappable,” Roberts said.

Offensively, Ohtani has yet to emerge in his first five games. The four-time MVP is batting .167 with no home runs and no RBIs. He had 55 homers in 2025.

He extended his on-base streak to 36 games, making it the longest of his career.

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“I was able to get on base and that’s a good thing,” Ohtani said. “But on the pitches that I’m supposed to impact I’m not quite able to do it to the extent that I should be able to do it. That’s the part I’m not quite happy about.”

Observing Ohtani’s work habits on a daily basis convinced Muncy that his first love is pitching.

“He’s really learned everything with pitching: his mechanics, how to attack hitters. He focuses so much on it. You can really, really tell he loves it,” Muncy said.

Roberts said Ohtani will have six days of rest before his next start.

“I think the team should prioritize Yoshinobu (Yamamoto), (Tyler) Glasnow and (Blake) Snell when he returns,” Ohtani said. “So I think it’s easy to fit myself into that schedule whenever the team feels like it’s a good thing. The most important thing is that we’ll all be healthy in October.”

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