Shohei Ohtani lowers ERA to 0.74 with six scoreless innings, leads NL in OBP

Shohei Ohtani could be working as only a pitcher this season, and we would still be talking about how he’s having one of the best starts in MLB history.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar continued his campaign for a third straight NL MVP award (and his fifth MVP award overall) with six scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. His ERA is now 0.74 through 10 starts, which would easily lead MLB if he had one more inning to qualify for the ERA title.

Ohtani struck out six while allowing only two hits and one walk against the D-backs. He also happened to reach base in his first four plate appearances, with two singles and two walks, to build his NL lead in on-base percentage.

It’s the kind of accomplishment that needs to be repeated to be appreciated: The Dodgers have the pitcher with the best ERA among any pitcher with more than one start and the hitter with the best OBP in the National League. And they are the same person.

Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, only two pitchers in MLB history have had a lower ERA through their first 10 starts of the season: Jacob deGrom in 2021 (0.56) and Juan Marichal in 1966 (0.59). Even Fernando Valenzuela’s mark was “up” to 1.24 by the 10th start of his legendary Fernandomania run (with far more innings, obviously).

Here is an abbreviated game log of Ohtani’s 10 starts. Try and decide what the worst one is.

You could legitimately make an argument that Ohtani’s six hitless innings on May 27 was one of his five worst starts this season on a results basis. His ERA increased, after all.

If there was a knock against Ohtani this season, it was that his bat had lightened in his first full season as a pitcher with the Dodgers. The Dodgers admitted as much when the started giving him the day off as a hitter when he was pitching.

So naturally he is now hitting .431 since May 12.