Shohei Ohtani has made plenty of opponents, both on the mound and at the plate, look completely foolish, but the swing-and-miss he got off Jose Altuve on Tuesday night in Houston was downright awesome.
After striking out and then striking out in his first two at-bats against the Dodgers’ star, the second baseman stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning with base runners on the corners. Sitting on a 1-2 count, Ohtani threw a sweeper, hoping to get Altuve to chase one away.
And boy did he chase.
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani pitches during the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Center in Toronto on April 8, 2026. (John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images)
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Ohtani’s pitch never got close to the strike zone, but despite the pitch getting far away from him, Altuve stuck the bat out and didn’t come close to making contact.
The pitch from Ohtani would have hit a left-handed batter, and Altuve would have needed a ladder to even come close to reaching it, but he pulled the trigger nonetheless.
Houston Astros left fielder Jose Altuve walks off the field during the game against the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park on April 18, 2025. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
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The camera focusing on Ohtani’s face after scoring the bizarre K is classic. It looked like he was fighting for his life not to start laughing at what he just witnessed from Altuve.
Altuve finished the contest 0-for-4 at the plate while striking out three times, but his Astros were able to get the best of Los Angeles 2-1 on the night on the back of four total hits.
Ohtani struck out eight batters in his seven innings of work on the mound, but the two solo home runs he gave up ended up being the difference in the close contest.
Shohei Ohtani greets his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in the bullpen before Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto. (Ashley Landis/AP)
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Tuesday’s loss marks the third straight start for Ohtani in which his Dodgers crew finished on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
With a loss to the Astros on Wednesday, the Dodgers will have lost their third straight series.
