Shohei Ohtani has an off night in his two-way World Series debut

By: Beth Harris, The Associated Press Posted: 10:30 PM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 Last Modified: 11:18 PM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — This time, Shohei Ohtani was just ordinary.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — This time, Shohei Ohtani was just ordinary.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — This time, Shohei Ohtani was just ordinary.

A night after the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar treated baseball fans to one of the greatest performances in World Series history, he looked just fine on the mound and struggled at the plate.

Ohtani was tagged for four runs and six hits in the Dodgers’ 6-2 loss Tuesday night to the Toronto Blue Jays, who tied the best-of-seven Series at 2. He struck out six and walked one over six innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani walks to the dugout after striking out Toronto Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk during the sixth inning in Game 4 of baseball's World Series, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

After reaching base a record-tying nine times — including two homers and two doubles — in an 18-inning, 6-5 win in Game 3, Ohtani was hitless with two strikeouts and a walk. The three-time MVP went down swinging against Shane Bieber leading off the third, ending his on-base streak at 11.

“Bieber pitched really well,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “He attacked really at the edge and was able to execute location-wise.”

His historic and exhausting performance Monday appeared to take a toll as Ohtani took the mound about 17 hours after saying he wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible. He said he was in bed by about 2 a.m. and felt rested enough for Game 4.

“I was able to get on the mound in pretty good condition,” he said.

Catcher Will Smith didn’t detect any fatigue from Ohtani.

“He’s got a really good idea of what he’s doing on the mound,” Smith said. “Goes in with a really clear plan and has a really good feel out there. He was making good pitches out there. I thought he looked really good.”

Ohtani gave up his first homer of the postseason — a two-run shot by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on an 85 mph sweeper — that put the Blue Jays ahead 2-1 in the third.

“After last night and kind of all the recognition that went into Shohei individually and he’s on the mound today, it’s a huge swing from Vlad,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “It’s a huge swing to get us going.”

Ohtani retired the side in the second and sixth. In between, he struck out the side in the fourth.

The Blue Jays broke the game open in a four-run seventh. Their first two runs were charged to Ohtani, who had already left the game. He was disappointed he couldn’t pitch deeper into the game a day after LA leaned hard on its bullpen.

“Whether it’s during the regular season or the postseason, my goal is to be able to pitch six innings, and the situation, this game, I wanted to go seven,” he said. “And it was regrettable that I wasn’t able to finish that inning.”

The Dodgers had six hits and never landed a big blow behind Ohtani.

“He gave us chances,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “We just didn’t come through offensively.”

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