Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Joins Elite Company in MLB History After 9 Starts

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani may have hit an uncharacteristic slump at the plate early this season, but his pitching has only continued to improve, and Wednesday night was no different against the Colorado Rockies as he entered rare MLB company.

The Dodgers stormed to a 4-1 victory and completed a three-game sweep thanks to a historic outing from Ohtani, who threw six hitless innings with seven strikeouts while allowing just one earned run, despite walking four batters and hitting another.

Ohtani ended the night having thrown 99 pitches, 56 of them for strikes, as his ERA dropped to an incredible 0.82. The mark ranks the ninth-lowest ERA recorded by any pitcher with at least 50 innings entering June since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913. But that wasn't the only feat he achieved on Wednesday.

Ohtani has now made nine starts this season, and few pitchers in the modern era have opened a campaign more dominantly. His 0.82 ERA through those appearances ties him with Zack Greinke's remarkable 2009 stretch for the fourth-lowest mark through nine starts in the Live Ball Era. Only Jacob deGrom in 2021 (0.62) and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal in 1966 (0.69) posted lower ERAs over the same span.

And after 9 starts this season, Shohei Ohtani has a 0.82 ERA. It's tied for the third-best ERA through the first nine starts of an MLB season (Live Ball Era/since 1920) with Zack Greinke in 2009. Only Jacob deGrom (0.62 in 2021) and Juan Marichal (0.69 in 1966) are better.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) May 28, 2026

Across those nine starts, Ohtani has allowed one or zero earned runs in all but one outing, while his scoreless streak reached 19 1/3 innings before Willi Castro's RBI groundout snapped it in the fourth inning Wednesday night.

As expected, Ohtani showed little concern about the streak and suggested after the game that he was open to pitching deeper into games.

"I think I could've pitched deeper into the game, if I gave up hits," Ohtani said. "Just the walks lead to shorter outings. I would rather prefer take the days when I get hit a little bit but still be efficient rather than walking and not being able to pitch deeper into the game."

Nevertheless, the Dodgers had no trouble taming the Rockies, while Ohtani also impressed at the plate. He set the tone with a leadoff home run against Tomoyuki Sugano, marking his 28th career leadoff homer and fourth of the season.

It also marked his 22nd leadoff homer as a Dodger, passing Joc Pederson for the third-most in franchise history. The 31-year-old also became the first pitcher to hit a homer and allow no hits through the first six innings of a game since Jake Arrieta on September 27, 2015, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

Ohtani and the Dodgers are now riding a five-game winning streak, and after an off day Thursday, they will return home Friday to begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Related: Insider Reveals Rays Serious Interest in Acquiring Shohei Ohtani

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 5:00 AM.