#shohei-ohtani

#shohei-ohtani

The 33-year old was taken No. 7 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2011 MLB Draft. Most scouts presumed Bradley to become an elite starting pitcher out of his native Oklahoma. Instead, Bradley morphed into a very credible reliever over the course of what was a nine-year career. He featured mostly for Arizona - though his time in the big leagues also included stops with the Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and the Miami Marlins.

Ohtani, the holder of three MVP trophies, is one away from being one of two players with four or more MVP awards. The only other one is Barry Bonds -an astounding seven-time MVP himself. More news: Dave Roberts on Roki Sasaki Returning to Dodgers This Season: 'Anything's Possible' At this stage in the season, Ohtani is closing in on yet another 50-homer year. All of the advanced analytics seem to support his case purely as a hitter without any of the impact he's begun making on the mound as a pitcher. The other player most commonly linked with Ohtani in 2025 as a possible National League MVP candidate is soon-to-be free agent Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Given the rules that wouldn't allow Ohtani to be used as a designated hitter, reliever, and upon exiting the mound, going back to being a DH, there is a lot to consider if Ohtani were to pitch in a game he isn't starting. His talents at the plate, which will almost certainly win him a fourth MVP award, are too valuable to lose later in the game.

Ohtani was originally scheduled to pitch Wednesday but did not do so because of feeling under the weather. The Dodgers initially planned on Ohtani starting at some point this weekend before settling on delaying him until their home series against the Colorado Rockies. But Glasnow's injury required another pivot, and Ohtani responded with a scoreless effort. Some of that was thanks to Anthony Banda stranding the runner he inherited at third base with two outs in the fourth inning.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained that Ohtani was scratched from his pitching start at PNC Park due to being under the weather. The initial expectation was for Ohtani to instead start at some point during the series against the Baltimore Orioles. However, Roberts has since revealed the right-hander won't pitch before the Dodgers finish their road trip this weekend. Ohtani's next start instead has been pushed back Monday, in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

Flaherty, at his best, is a perfectly viable Game 2 starter. But his performance this season has fluctuated as wildly as it did for the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's playoffs, when he followed his two best starts with poor ones. He warrants only so much trust. With the emerging Melton, Holton and perhaps Brant Hurter, who is currently on the injured list with back soreness at Triple A, the Tigers will not lack for bulk-inning candidates.

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1, on Wednesday night behind Shohei Ohtani's most strikeouts in a game this season (9), and most innings pitched as a Dodger (5). LA improved to 77-57 on the year as they swept the Reds. In other news, Freddie Freeman was absent for the eventual victory as he is dealing with a stinger in his neck/shoulder area. The injury kept him out on Wednesday, but isn't expected to be a long-term issue.

As mentioned, Shohei Ohtani was on the bump for the Dodgers, and his very first pitch was slashed for a single in the 1st. However, he rebounded with a pair of strikeouts to help him prevent any trouble. The 2nd was more of a labor, as he walked back-to-back batters with one out and uncorked two wild pitches, but struck out three batters to help him escape the jam.

Since then, Ohtani has broken away from the pack in the NL as he's more fully resumed two-way duties. While other players like Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Pete Crow-Armstrong have put together excellent seasons of their own in the NL, it's hard to see that race as anything other than Ohtani's to lose headed into the final month of the season.

Ohtani got hit on his right knee by a 93 mph line drive off the bat of Colorado's Orlando Arcia in the fourth, causing him to limp and grimace in pain. After a mound visit from manager Dave Roberts and team medical personnel, Ohtani stayed in the game and got the last two outs of the inning, with the Dodgers trailing 5-0 at the time.