PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ frustrations are starting to seep in.
They keep getting asked the same questions, but have no new answers.
Simply, they have run out of superlatives, and there’s not a single Dodger player who keeps a Roget’s Thesaurus in his locker.
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Just how many different ways can you possibly describe Shohei Ohtani, the Greatest Sho on Earth, who once again Wednesday night defied any semblance of reality on a baseball diamond in the Dodgers’ 7-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks?
“The best player,’’ Dodgers catcher Will Smith said after the June 3 win, “that’s ever walked on this earth.’’
Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo took it a step further: “He is from another planet.’’
Ohtani showed the world once again why no one alive has ever seen anything quite like this.
He stepped on the pitcher’s mound at Chase Field, retired the first 11 batters he faced, and surrendered two hits and one walk in in six shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 0.74. It’s the third-lowest ERA in the first 10 starts of a season in MLB history.
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He stepped to the plate six times, and reached base five times, with three hits and two walks, raising his batting average to a season-high .301 with a .941 OPS.
It’s only the fourth time in baseball history that a player has pitched at least six shutout innings and reached base five or more times, a feat last accomplished in 1964 by New York Yankees starter Mel Stottlemyre.
“He’s probably one of a handful of players that could play in another league above the major leagues,’’ Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo says. “It’s the best way I can define it.
“It’s freakish what he’s able to do. You know where he is at all times in the lineup, you are budgeting to not let him beat you because he’s just so unpredictable, and there is no weakness.
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“He’s the best player I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around some really, really good players.’’
Shohei Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings on June 3 against the Diamondbacks, lowering his ERA to 0.74 though his first 10 starts of the 2026 season.
Well, considering Babe Ruth played his last game in 1935, and Bill Greason (101) and Bobby Shantz (100) are the only two 100-year-old former major league players still alive, it’s fair to say the rest of the 8.3 billion alive in this world would say the same.
“It’s really hard not to think about what he’s going to do next,’’ says Dodgers veteran infielder Miguel Rojas, “when he’s that talented. I really hate when people start making assumptions that he can’t hit as well when he pitches, or he can’t pitch as well when he hits, because someone as talented as Shohei, he can do anything.
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“You’re seeing it every night.’’
Certainly, we’ve already seen what Ohtani can accomplish as a hitter, leading the league in homers twice, leading the league in slugging three times, and hitting at least .300 twice.
But what he’s doing now, not even Ruth ever hit more than 20 homers and won more than 10 games in the same season.
Certainly, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says, this would be the greatest season of his career, eclipsing his 2024 season when he hit 54 homers and stole 59 bases, but never pitched, recovering from Tommy John surgery.
“Absolutely,’’ Roberts says. “I mean, what’s more unique, being one of one, the 50/50 club, or throw 165 innings and hit 30-something homers and have a .950 OPS?
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“I think this would be for sure.’’
‘I like where I’m at’
If Ohtani maintains this, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America might as well start engraving his name on his fifth MVP plaque. The Dodgers should start taking artist renderings for the Ohtani statue outside Dodger Stadium. The Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown should start clearing out wall space.
And, Ohtani, well, maybe it’s time for him to join the crowd and appreciate just what he’s doing.
“I like where I’m at,” Ohtani said. “But it’s still May [actually June]. I do want to be able to look back halfway through the season and see where things are at.
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“But I’m pleased with where I’m at right now.”
Anyone else would be absolutely ecstatic, dancing on the mound, flipping their bat to the upper deck, and coming up with new antics on TikTok.
Sorry, it’s not Ohtani’s style.
Pitching on another level
He badly wants to lead the Dodgers to their third consecutive World Series title, accomplished only by the Yankees and Oakland A’s, but appears almost as obsessed with winning his first Cy Young award. He’s 6-2 with an MLB-leading 0.74 ERA among starters, but Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies (7-2, 1.46 ERA) just had a 50.2-inning scoreless inning streak. Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers (6-2, 1.65 ERA) has struck out 108 batters with his 103-mph fastball. Brewers teammate Kyle Harrison is 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA., And San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller has a 0.72 ERA and has been perfect in 17 save opportunities.
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You have one or two rough starts, and you can kiss the Cy Young award goodbye.
“I’ve noticed with Shohei, every run is a premium,’’ Roberts said. “He’s literally trying to throw a shutout every single time he goes out there, where I don’t know if every starter has that mindset.’’
No one has seen anything like it.
Maybe no one will again.
This is a player who has already won four MVP awards. He is the only player in history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in the same season. He has won two home run titles. He won an RBI title. He won 15 games with a 2.33 ERA one season with the Los Angeles Angels.
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But, never, ever, has he had a season like this, shaping up to be the greatest in baseball history.
He has pitched 61 innings this year, just one inning shy of qualifying for the ERA title, and given up just five runs and 30 hits. He has 10 homers, 33 RBI and leads the league with a .419 on-base percentage. And he’s getting even better the last three weeks. He was kept out of the starting lineup for two consecutive days to give him a breather, and responded by hitting .435 with seven doubles, two triples, three homers, 16 RBI and a 1.254 OPS in the Dodgers’ last 20 games.
“I think we were all expecting something really big happening when he came over here as a two-way player,’’ Rojas said, “but to see what he’s doing, this, well, I really don’t have any words to describe it anymore.
“What can you say? We’re watching the show like everyone else.’’
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani continues historic season, lowering ERA to 0.74
