'ERA 0.97' Shohei Ohtani pitches 7 innings with 6 strikeouts but becomes the losing pitcher! Dodgers lose 1-2 to Houston as 'Kim Hye-seong sits out' [LAD Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

Shohei Ohtani (32, LA Dodgers) failed to secure a win in three consecutive games despite delivering quality starts (7 innings or more with 3 earned runs or fewer) in six consecutive outings.

On the 6th (Korean time), Ohtani started for the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season road game against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, USA, pitching 7 innings, allowing 4 hits (2 home runs), 1 hit by pitch, 8 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs, recording his second loss (2 wins) of the season.

As a result, Ohtani's regular season pitching record stands at 6 games, 2 wins, 1 loss, 0.97 ERA, 37 innings, 42 strikeouts, and a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 0.81. He continues his pursuit of his first Cy Young Award while maintaining his position as the MLB leader in ERA.

It was an overwhelming pitching performance. That day, Ohtani threw a total of 89 pitches, including a fastball averaging 98.4 mph (about 158.4 km/h) (38 pitches), a sweeper (35 pitches), a curveball (8 pitches), a sinker (4 pitches), a splitter (3 pitches), and a slider (1 pitch), generating 15 swings and misses.

Ohtani began the game with a three-up, three-down inning, striking out Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes in the first. The only way Houston could score was via home runs. In the bottom of the second, leadoff batter Christian Walker connected with Ohtani's 97.7 mph (about 157.2 km/h) fastball inside the plate and sent it over the left-field wall. In the bottom of the third with one out, Brayan Rodriguez hit a 98.7 mph (about 158.8 km/h) fastball inside the plate over the left-field wall. Houston took a 2-0 lead.

After inducing three consecutive outs, Ohtani allowed consecutive hits to Nick Allen and Brayan Rodriguez in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, putting himself in a bases-loaded situation. However, Ohtani struck out Altuve with a sweeping curveball outside the plate, ending the inning without allowing any runs.

Despite Ohtani's quality start plus (7 innings or more with 3 earned runs or fewer) pitching, the Dodgers managed only 6 hits and 1 run, losing 1-2 to Houston. The only run they scored came in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and a runner on second base, when Kyle Tucker hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score one run.

Angel Paredes went 3-for-4 with a multi-hit performance, the only one for the Dodgers. However, the rest of the batters managed only 3 hits combined. Kim Hye-seong did not appear in the game even as a substitute. Houston's starting pitcher, Peter Lambert, pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 hits, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts without allowing any runs, securing his second win (loss) of the season.

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*This content was translated by AI.