Someday, Victor Vodnik can regale his three young daughters, Ariel, Rose, and Viviana, with tales about his battles with Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
But for the here and now, give Vodnik props for chutzpah.
“That’s going to be awesome to tell them I faced Shohei Ohtani,” the Rockies’ late-game reliever said. “But for me, hopefully, he says, ‘I got to face Victor Vodnik.’”
Ohtani and the mighty Dodgers, off to a 14-4 start, are scheduled to open a four-game series against the Rockies at Coors Field on Friday night, weather permitting. If Yankee Stadium was the house that Babe Ruth built, Coors is the house that Ohtani wrecked. In 20 career games there, he’s slashed .387/.452/.773 with seven home runs, including a 476-foot rocket off Austin Gomber on June 18, 2024.
Friday night, fellow Japanese player Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled to start against the Dodgers. Sugano has faced Ohtani in only one game in the majors, as a starter for Baltimore last season. That was on Sept. 7 when Ohtani connected for his 47th and 48th home runs in his first two at-bats in the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.
“I don’t have a set game plan going in to face Shohei Ohtani yet,” Sugano told The Post during spring training. “Last year, he hit two home runs off me, so as a Japanese player, I would like to attack him and try to be productive.”
Ohtani won’t pitch during the series in LoDo because he started on Wednesday night in New York against the Mets in Los Angeles’ 8-2 victory. Ohtani dominated, allowing just one run while striking out 10 batters over six innings. The right-hander (who bats left-handed) generated 22 swings and misses. In three starts, his ERA is a sterling 0.50.
Shohei Ohtani (17) of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates hitting a solo homerun off of Austin Gomber (26) of the Colorado Rockies as fans erupt during the second inning at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Ohtani did not hit on Wednesday because he was still sore from being struck on the back of his right shoulder by a pitch from the Mets’ David Peterson on Monday. However, Ohtani is expected to be the designated hitter vs. the Rockies.
Ohtani, 31, has won four MVP awards in the past five years, all of them unanimously. The two-way player wants another jewel in his glittering crown.
“He wants a Cy Young,” Dodgers backup catcher Dalton Rushing told ESPN during spring training. “And you can tell with the way he’s carrying himself here recently.”
So maybe it’s a good thing, for Ohtani, that he’s not starting this time around at Coors Field. Last August, the Rockies hammered him for five runs in four innings. Ohtani gave up career-high-tying nine hits as the Rockies rolled to an 8-3 victory.
That was Ohtani’s first regular-season start at Coors Field, even though he started for the American League in the 2021 All-Star Game, retiring all three batters he faced while going 0 for 2 at the plate in the AL’s 5-2 victory over the National League. Ohtani was pitching for the Angels at the time.
‘You have to be constantly bobbing and weaving’
When Ohtani steps up to the plate at Coors, Colorado’s pitchers know they’d better bring their best stuff. Veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland has seen how the slugger can demolish a pitcher with good intentions but bad execution. Ohtani is 7 for 11 (.636) with two home runs vs. Freeland.
“Every single night, on everybody’s lineup, he’s always circled on the card,” said Freeland, who’s on the injured list with a sore shoulder. “He’s the guy you say, ‘Do not let him be the guy to beat you, just because of what he’s capable of on the offensive side of the ball.’ ”
However, Freeland said a pitcher can’t be afraid to go after Ohtani.
“You don’t want to shy away from him; you definitely still want to attack him,” Freeland continued. “He’s still human, he’s still a baseball player like us, playing at the game’s highest level.”
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner (18) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Saturday, April 11, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Right-hander Ryan Feltner, who’s scheduled to start Saturday night’s game, has had success vs. the Dodgers’ star, limiting him to one double in seven at-bats.
“I struck him out on three pitches in L.A. to start the game, so that was cool,” Feltner recalled, looking back to the Dodgers’ 6-2 win over the Rockies on April 15 last season.
But Feltner wasn’t gloating.
“I would like to say he’s just another guy with a bat, but that’s not true,” Feltner said. “He’s got an incredible ability to cover a lot of different areas of the plate with incredible power. There are really only a few other players who can do that. (Houston’s) Yordan Alverez is another one.
“There are certain guys who can take swings in a part of the zone where they shouldn’t be able to do damage, but they do. You have to be constantly bobbing and weaving with Ohtani.”
Freeland, who knows baseball history, appreciates the challenge of facing the Japanese legend.
“Going up against the very best, the 1% or the 1%, is always fun,” he said. “When you come out on top, it’s even better. Being able to face a guy like that, and being able to look back years from now and say, ‘I battled against arguably the greatest baseball player we will ever see in our lifetime,’ is pretty cool.”
Vodnik calls Ohtani a “great player,” adding, “The things he’s doing are unbelievable.”
However, the confident Vodnik is not shy about sharing his game plan on dispatching Ohtani.
“First, I have to trust my stuff,” said Vodnik, who has limited experience facing Ohtani — 2 for 4 with one strikeout and one walk in five plate appearances.
“I know I can beat him up-and-in by throwing changeups,” Vodnik continued. “Or backfoot sliders that are well executed. I don’t see him as any different than anybody else.”
Vodnik’s game plan is to use Ohtani’s strength against him.
“He keeps his barrel in the zone for a very, very long time, and I think that’s why it’s good to go in on him,” he said. “If (the batter’s) going to be doing that, they have got to be ready to turn on that inside pitch. And that’s really hard to do against a guy throwing 100 (mph).
“So I think that once you get him sped up, then you can slow it down and throw the changeup. Or vice versa. You can throw the changeup and speed it up later on. That’s when it becomes a chess game, right? Also, I know that the last outing I faced him, I punched him out with a changeup. So maybe it’s in the back of his mind, maybe it’s not. We’ll see.”
Does Vodnik’s red warning light go on when Ohtani steps up to the plate?
“No, for me it’s more so about my always having the same mentality,’ Vodnik said. “I’m attacking you no matter who you are. That’s just how I am. I have always been that way.
“Obviously, I study my reports, and I know their weaknesses and my strengths. For me, vs. Ohtani, it’s a good matchup. I like it.”
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