A trio of fastballs. Everybody in the strike zone. Everybody over 100 mph. And all whiffed and batted at by the most recognisable player in the game, Shohei Ohtani.
It is possible that the Dodgers are not performing like the unstoppable squad that everyone anticipated. They do not have an unbeatable lineup. They have a pitching staff that can be hit.
Still, everyone wants to defeat them as their squad. Regarding baseball in early June, this game between the Dodgers’ veteran players and the sport’s most anticipated prospect would undoubtedly disclose something.
In the first at-bat, Ohtani saw three pitches, but Paul Skenes, the Pirates’ breakout starter, got him to swing through all of them. The next at-bat, the two-way hero would get his retribution with a two-run home run.
“I like to call that big on big,” Skenes said. “Obviously, (I) beat him a couple times earlier. I think that was the right pitch to throw there (on the home run), he’s just a pretty darn good player. Stuff like that’s going to happen.”
1,2,3. pic.twitter.com/eEiIluenCo
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 5, 2024
Despite starter James Paxton allowing six earned runs in one and a half innings, the Pirates defeated the Dodgers 10–6. Less significant than the outcome, though, were the dramatic individual matchups that preceded it.
Before the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts discussed his team’s difficulties versus the fastball. He asserted that the data do not lie and that the Dodgers’ inability to catch fastballs that surpass 94 mph was a problem.
The facts speak for themselves: as of Wednesday, the Dodgers were 29th in baseball for wOBA on pitches that topped 97 mph. When pitching at 95 mph or above, they were ranked 17th.
Naturally, Skenes does not just throw fastballs at 95 mph. He reaches 100 mph so frequently that anything that falls below that speed raises red flags. Before the game, Roberts said the Dodgers would just have to tip their cap if he tunneled his fastball in reliable locations.
“I thought today was a really good offensive performance,” Roberts said after the loss. “I thought the at-bats were much better. I thought we were on the fastball.”
“The overall team approach has been a lot better recently,” Ohtani said.
Despite recording five hits against the highly regarded Skenes heater, the Dodgers struggled with Skenes fastball, whitting on eleven of their twenty-eight swings and taking eight extra strikes in the zone.
105.6 mph from Shohei! pic.twitter.com/7lzOA5qmRS
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 5, 2024
Usually, Skenes would rely more on his split-finger, or “splinker,” pitch, especially during his most recent start. During his first four starts, he had only thrown his fastball 38.9% of the time. He used it fifty-two percent of the time this time. An obvious strategy to take advantage of a Los Angeles deficiency.
“We did our game plan but every game is going to tell us a lot also,” Skenes said. “I kind of attacked based on that.”
Though not in the traditional sense, there was significance to this game. The Dodgers seem ready to take the division by storm, leading the NL West by a margin of 6 1/2 games. The Pirates are one of the wild cards in the NL. Almost every team is, though. They remain three games behind as well.500 and in danger of finishing last in the NL Central.
For both clubs, this game served as a gauge of sorts: The Dodgers, tired of fastballs, taking on the opening pitcher with the strongest throws. Skenes facing the most expensive lineup in baseball. Everything about it took this game above the level of a typical Wednesday night. The 29,716 spectators, an increase of 10,000 from the season average, demonstrated that.
“His stuff itself was really good,” Ohtani said. “As you could see in my first at-bat, I couldn’t really put together good swings. But overall, it’s just really good stuff.”
There were some weaknesses on both sides. Mookie Betts walked after he struck out twice, displaying signs of frustration. And Skenes struggled through his last five innings of work, requiring 93 pitches to complete them.
The Dodgers are more confident in their ability to close the gap on the fastball. The Pirates are pleased with their series victory against Los Angeles because their two young aces outperformed the opponent.
Skenes’ first-inning highlight against Ohtani, whom the native of Southern California saw grow up with the Angels, will always be cherished. Ohtani will also have his retribution in the third inning.
“There’s different steps in terms of maturation,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Skenes. “The one thing we’re learning about him is that he’s not afraid to go after people. He went right after a really good lineup and again, the top three guys all have MVP trophies.”
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani in the first inning: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
