Ohtani and Glasnow proving to be an overpowering duo together
by Cary Osborne
Tyler Glasnow overpowers hitters. Shohei Ohtani overpowers pitchers.
It’s been a theme whenever Glasnow has pitched.
Rinse and repeat — repeated again on Saturday.
Glasnow was outstanding, again, striking out 10 batters over seven innings, including K’ing the side in the fifth and sixth innings.
Ohtani had a three-hit day, including a third-inning solo home run that gave him the franchise lead for career home runs by a Japanese-born player at eight. He grinned approaching second base knowing the man he passed was in the Dodger dugout — manager Dave Roberts, who also chuckled.
The Dodgers beat the Braves 11–2, handing a second straight defeat to last year’s National League regular-season powerhouse and now 2024 World Series contender.
Ohtani and Glasnow were acquired in the offseason for a multitude of reasons — one being they give the Dodgers a better chance at beating better teams.
The special thing is what they’ve been doing as a combo.
The Dodgers have won seven of Glasnow’s eight starts this season. He has a 2.70 ERA and a Major League-leading 63 strikeouts and 50 innings pitched. He has completed seven innings in three of his starts.
Ohtani has had a hit in each of Glasnow’s eight starts and has homered in three of them. He has a .424/.457/.758/1.215 slash line in those games.
“Daunting is the word,” said Roberts of teams having to face the duo. “Not too long ago we had the task of trying to go up against Tyler, and it’s tough. You got your work cut out. He could dominate you at any particular outing. And then Shohei, over the last six years we had to face him — seeing how he could change the game every time he steps in the batter’s box. And so for us to have two of those players is pretty special. I’ve been on the other side of it. So it’s certainly much more fun to be on this side.”
The Dodgers have gone on a run and are 10–2 in their last 12 games.
That run began with a 10–0 win against the Mets on April 21 — a game started by Glasnow where he allowed no runs over eight innings. Glasnow has won three of the 10 games in this stretch and has allowed three earned runs over 21 innings.
Ohtani hit a home run in that April 21 game.
Since April 21, he has four home runs and has driven in 11 runs.
The home run on Saturday brought with it a heavy dose of levity.
Before the game, Ohtani presented Roberts a toy Porsche as a gift in anticipation of breaking Roberts’ Dodger record. The joke was a play on Ohtani presenting Joe Kelly’s wife a real Porsche after he signed with the club and took over Kelly’s №17.
“(Roberts) said he wanted a car, and I’m glad that he was happy he got a car,” Ohtani said with a smile.
“The difference is Joe’s car doesn’t fit in my office,” Roberts said when he joined in on Ohtani’s postgame press conference to show the toy car. “This car fits on my desk.”
