Showcasing just how much he was held back last season, his first coming back from elbow surgery, Shohei Ohtani could tonight against the Giants complete at least half of his innings total in last year’s regular season. The back-to-back NL MVP has three starts on the year, completing exactly six innings in each of them with a 2-0 record, part of a rotation that has been one of the best in baseball.
Ohtani will face a Giants offense that, despite the win on Tuesday, hasn’t exactly been at its finest
this season, and that mainly goes through the struggles of Rafael Devers, who did play a key role in their 3-1 win on Monday with one RBI. Signed to be the leader of this attack, Devers only has four extra-base hits IN 93 at-bats this season, and if his track record against Ohtani is to be taken into account, the outlook for tonight’s game favors the Dodgers.
Players who first crossed paths when they were both in the American League, Ohtani with the Angels and Devers with the Red Sox, have faced each other 12 times—Devers is two for 12 against Ohtani with no home runs and no runs batted in. Still with a small sample on the mound as a Dodger, Ohtani doesn’t have a lot of experience against this Giants lineup. Other than Devers, Matt Chapman is the only Giant with double-digit at-bats against Ohtani, hitting two homers in 19 of them.
After sitting down quietly despite a bombardment of walks against Landon Roupp—who, by the way, hadn’t allowed a home run all season long—the homer-happy Dodgers face the favorable matchup of Tyler Mahle, responsible for 25% of the long balls conceded by the Giants’ pitching staff (6 of 24).
Wednesday’s game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Giants
- Ballpark: Oracle Park, San Francisco
- Start time: 6:45 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
