Dominance has been the baseline expectation for Shohei Ohtani whenever he steps onto a Major League mound. But his assignment Wednesday night at Target Field served as a clear testament to his resilience, and also his ability to take control of a situation when need be. Faced with resetting after his first true rough patch of the 2026 season -- and pitching through a much-discussed right middle finger blister and left knee inflammation -- the Dodgers' two-way superstar responded by dialing up the volume. Literally. Ohtani left his mark on both sides of the ball against the Twins, anchored by a fastball that averaged a career-high 100 mph. By the time he handed things over to the bullpen, his final line stood at six innings, five hits, three runs (two earned), two walks and eight strikeouts on 89 pitches, as the Dodgers won, 4-3, to complete the sweep. But he faced some serious adversity to get there. Ohtani’s most difficult inning was a chaotic bottom of the second, a frame defined by early miscommunication with rookie catcher Dalton Rushing. After yielding a leadoff single to Victor Caratini, a pair of one-out singles and a passed ball allowed Minnesota to tie the game before Ryan Kreidler ripped a two-run single to put the Dodgers in an early 3-1 hole. "There were two pitches called," Ohtani explained through interpreter Will Ireton. "The first one was offspeed. The second pitch was a fastball. Rush thought that he was getting an offspeed because I started moving after the first pitch was called, but what I had in mind was the second pitch, which was a fastball."
