Dodgers Interview: Shohei Regrets Not Being Able to Go Seven
LOS ANGELES — The night after an 18-inning epic, Shohei Ohtani walked into the interview room to face questions about his first loss of the postseason. He got the ball in Game Four and didn’t pitch badly, but a a couple of hits in the seventh changed his fate. As it is, Ohtani was charged with four earned over six-plus, yet he didn’t want to blame the L on fatigue from the night before. “I went to bed around two,” he said. “I got enough sleep to be ready. Last night was a long game, but I tried to rest as much as I could, and I felt good enough to take the mound.”
Asked why runs have been hard to find in this series, Ohtani gave credit to the arms across the way. “We’re facing great pitchers,” he said. “On teams this good, they’re going to throw their best. The numbers can tilt that way. But if we do what we’re supposed to do as a group, we can still score with a limited number of hits.” The approach doesn’t change much for him whether the bases are empty or crowded. “It’s simple; we need to swing at strikes, take balls,” he said. “If we do that, it doesn’t matter what’s coming. That part doesn’t change.”
The context around his start made the assignment heavier than a typical October outing. Everyone knew the bullpen had been stretched the night before; Ohtani did, too. “As a starter, the job is to give length,” he said. “At minimum six. Today, seven would have been best. I couldn’t finish that, and that’s the part I regret.”
He also didn’t hide the pitch that bothered him most. The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. punished a sweeper left in the wrong spot, and he called it like he saw it. “The location wasn’t good,” he said. “That’s the one I want back. The result tells you everything.” He expanded on the feel of the day, attributing the performance more to mechanics than fatigue. “From the bullpen on, my movement wasn’t where I wanted it,” he said. “You get days like that. Then it becomes, ‘How do you compete anyway?’ I felt like I could fight through six. The start of the seventh, including the first two hitters, that’s what I regret the most.”
If there were any lingering effects from his marathon at the plate in Game Three, he wasn’t blaming that either. “I don’t want to say last night caused anything today,” he said. “I had some dehydration last night and a short sleep, so there was a little worry it could cramp again. It didn’t. The staff helped a lot with recovery after the game, and I could go into today in a good state.”
Perspective lives right alongside the frustration. Ohtani called the last 48 hours “a great experience,” then left himself room to adjust. “We didn’t win today,” he said. “I need reflection—however long it takes, I don’t know—but I need to find the points to improve. Yesterday was amazing for everyone. Will catching 18, everyone contributing. Today didn’t go our way. Take the good and the bad, turn the page, and focus on the next game.”
On the the way opponents pitch him with and without traffic, his answer stayed practical. “It always changes a little based on the runner, even in the regular season,” he said. “But if I keep my plan, then I can handle whatever mix they choose.” When Toronto shifted to more chase-softening sequences at the edges, he recognized it; earlier in the postseason he’d pounded those boundaries himself from the mound. “In the postseason, the pitch to the edges has been good,” he said. “Today, glove side wasn’t as sharp.”
Reporters asked the question that hovers over every two-way icon: after starting in Game Four, would he be willing to pitch again later in the series if needed? “It depends on how far I can carry it,” he said. “If the team needs me in any of the remaining games, I want to be ready. There can be more extra-inning games like yesterday. I’ll prepare so I can go again if I’m asked.”
So, unless it is in relief, Ohtani’s season as a pitcher is over. When asked if he ever pictured himself on the mound for the final out of a title, Ohtani kept the answer grounded in roles. “That’s a closer’s job,” he said, smiling. “Right now Roki is in that role. The best scenario is everyone passes the baton to get there. It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound at the end if I do my job on the day I’m given.”
For fans parsing the differences between his earlier starts and this one, Ohtani’s self-scout tracked closely with the eye test. The tempo looked fine. The competitiveness never dipped. The miss pattern, especially the pulled sweeper, told the story. He said the work started as soon as he left the field. “I took care of everything after last night’s game,” he said. “We had time. I got the recovery in, then focused on being ready today.” And even on a day where he took his first World Series loss, he kept the door open for a short-rest cameo should the series demand an unconventional solution. “If it goes that way, I’ll be ready.”
The Dodgers didn’t get the Game Four they wanted. They did get their ace standing there, taking questions, laying out the plan without excuses. “As a starter, you want the length and the execution,” Ohtani said. “I didn’t get enough of both today. I’ll look at it, fix what I can, and be ready when they need me.”
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