How did the Diamondbacks look against Shohei Ohtani?

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks knew they had a challenging day in front of them on Wednesday with Shohei Ohtani pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he baffled their lineup throughout his six shutout innings.

The D-backs (32-29) failed to stop the game’s two-way superstar from hurting them on both fronts, as he reached base five times in a 7-0 win for the Dodgers (40-22). The Dodgers out-hit the Diamondbacks 16-2 to take a lead in the four-game series.

“This is one of those situations where we’ve got to be better in all areas of the game,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve got a chance to come out here tomorrow and salvage a split. And that’s got to be our main focus. This was a rough game. It’s not fun to be a part of.”

Ohtani mixed his speeds to an absurd degree, showing Nolan Arenado a 72 mph curveball before striking him out on a 98.8 mph heater.

He dropped a 68 mph curveball to Gabriel Moreno that looked like an eephus before darting a 99.9 mph fastball, which Moreno poked to right field for the first D-backs hit. It came with two outs in the fourth inning. Geraldo Perdomo knocked the only other hit off Ohtani.

The D-backs struck out six times and walked once against him, as the only inning they built ended with a rare Corbin Carroll double play to end the sixth.

“His sweeper was very sharp, and you can’t really look for it because that fastball plays up, so I felt like if you were fouling off pitches, he was eventually going to get to you,” designated hitter Pavin Smith said.

Ohtani also drew some glares from the D-backs’ dugout with several pitches that forced hitters to duck or jump out of the way.

“I don’t love it,” Lovullo said. “I don’t think there’s any purpose behind it.”

A notable absence from Arizona’s lineup was Ketel Marte, who got the day off while dealing with hamstring and back tightness.

Ohtani has allowed one earned run over his last four starts, as he continues to build an early Cy Young campaign. The four-time MVP has not earned the game’s highest pitching honor to this point.

His ERA on Wednesday dropped to 0.74 in 10 starts — five earned runs in 61 innings. It is the third-lowest ERA 10 starts into a season in MLB since 1910, according to Stathead. Only Jacob deGrom’s 0.56 in 2021 and Juan Marichal’s 0.59 in 1966 were lower.

At the plate, he finished with three singles and two walks to raise his OPS to .941, third highest in the National League. The Diamondbacks have not been able to stop him all series (8-for-12), as Lovullo said pregame that his bat is probably more impactful than his arm due to its daily impact.

How did Zac Gallen look against the Dodgers?

Zac Gallen started for Arizona and set a decent tone with a six-pitch first inning followed by what should have been a first-pitch out in the second.

A Perdomo throwing error put the lead-off man on, and Gallen served up a cookie to Kyle Tucker, who blasted a two-run home run. The Dodgers rallied for three runs on four hits and a walk in the third inning, and the game felt out of reach for the rest of the night.

Gallen finished with five innings pitched, five runs (four earned), nine hits and a season-low one strikeout, raising his ERA to 5.32. The D-backs are 5-8 in his 13 starts this season.

“Just keep working, honestly, keep grinding,” Gallen said. “That’s one thing that I’m not going to not do. Just kind of roll over and die. We’re turning every rock to figure out what’s going on here.”

Gallen said his stuff felt solid, but his struggles continue to stem from execution shortcomings. The Dodgers piled up some timely hits, as the right-hander’s struggles to miss bats persist.

It was a disappointing effort for a Diamondbacks team that has struggled against the game’s greats this year, from scoring one run off Tarik Skubal, none against Paul Skenes and none versus Ohtani.

“To get to where we’ve got to get to, we’ve got to beat that type of starting pitching,” Lovullo said.

The D-backs showed fight on Tuesday despite a 6-5 loss, as they were a hit away from flipping what was a four-run deficit. They won the series opener 4-1.

Wednesday was an all-around rotten day for the Diamondbacks, as Lovullo announced before the game that recovering ace Corbin Burnes suffered a setback and will be shut down from his throwing progression.

Brandon Pfaadt’s future

Brandon Pfaadt threw 37 pitches in relief but only recorded three outs. He has not completed multiple innings since May 12.

Lovullo acknowledged that there is a “strong possibility” the club will opt to stretch Pfaadt back out, signaling roster moves are coming.

Wednesday’s attendance

36,213

Series finale

The Diamondbacks will face Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski (7-2, 2.87 ERA) in the series finale.

Ryne Nelson (2-4, 4.82 ERA) will pitch for Arizona.

The game starts at 6:40 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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