On his 31st birthday, Ohtani tosses a scoreless inning in the second but Houston rallies with a four-run third. In the seventh, the Dodgers falter after Mookie Betts’ baserunning error, falling 6-4.
They might not hand out MVP awards in early July, although they certainly can peek at resumes and nobody carries the sparkling credentials of Shohei Ohtani.
The season is not even at the All-Star break, but nobody in either league can boast at least 30 home runs while striking out all three batters in one inning against one of the top teams in the major leagues.
And doing it on your 31st birthday? Only a three-time MVP winner in Ohtani can juggle so many engagements at one time.
As far as the race in the standings goes, the Dodgers could use more innings from Ohtani on a per-game basis. In his fourth start of the season, he allowed one hit and no runs over his scheduled two innings before the Houston Astros rallied for a 6-4 victory.
Ohtani was serenaded by organist Dieter Ruehle to the notes of “Happy Birthday,” as he left the mound following the top of the second inning when he struck out Christian Walker, Victor Caratini and Yainer Diaz.
The Astros had a far more discerning eye against left-hander Justin Wrobleski, immediately rebounding with a four-run third inning.
