Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani expressed disappointment over the way his outing as a starting pitcher ended during the Dodgers’ 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the 2025 World Series on Tuesday.
After allowing only two earned runs through six innings, Ohtani took the mound for the seventh, but he allowed a single to Daulton Varsho and double to Ernie Clement, which prompted manager Dave Roberts to pull him from the game.
Speaking to reporters through an interpreter after the game, Ohtani said, “I wanted to go seven, and it was regrettable that I wasn’t able to finish that inning.”
The Varsho and Clement hits started a huge rally for the Jays, as they went on to plate four runs during the seventh inning, extending their lead to what proved to be an insurmountable 6-1 margin.
Two of those runs were charged to Ohtani, giving him a final line of six hits, one walk and four earned runs allowed, while striking out six over six innings.
Ohtani also went 0-for-3 with a walk at the plate, which was a huge departure from what he did during the Dodgers’ 18-inning victory in Game 3.
In that game, Ohtani went 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI, plus he walked five times, as the Jays opted to put him on base intentionally throughout the extra innings.
Ohtani’s nine times on base set a new record for most times on base in a playoff game, shattering the previous record of six.
The Japanese megastar’s impact was nowhere near as great in Game 4, which is part of the reason why the best-of-seven series has now become a best of three at 2-2.
Overall, the 31-year-old Ohtani had a great postseason as a pitcher, going 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 25 strikeouts over 18 innings.
However, after making his last pitching appearance of the playoffs in Game 4, perhaps it will clear the deck for him and allow him to completely hone in on what he has to do at the plate.
That will be of the utmost importance in Game 5 on Wednesday night since the winning team will head back to Toronto with a 3-2 lead, needing just one more win in order to clinch a World Series title.
