LOS ANGELES -- Much of Shohei Ohtani's return to two-way stardom has been a slow burn, even once he made his long-awaited return to pitching. As his buildup on the mound has ticked along, every outing has been a reminder of just how dominant he can be on both sides of the ball.
Ohtani notched his 1,000th career Major League hit -- a two-run blast, his 39th of the season -- and he struck out eight on the mound, but the Dodgers couldn't hold a late lead in a 5-3 loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
"A really close game throughout," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "I think it would have been a huge win for us if we were able to flip the script. I could have done better with the quality of at-bats in the middle part of the game."
Only three Japanese-born players have reached 1,000 hits in the Majors, with Ohtani joining Ichiro Suzuki (3,089) and Hideki Matsui (1,253). Ohtani also became the fourth active member of the Dodgers to achieve the feat, joining Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández, who got there earlier this year.
Not only did Ohtani put his team ahead with the milestone knock, but he was also his own run support. Ohtani dispelled any lingering concerns from his previous start on the mound -- which ended early due to cramping in his right hip -- by stretching out to four innings for the first time this season, holding the Cardinals to one run on two hits.
"I thought it was a big day for me personally," Ohtani said, "getting to the fourth inning and pitching through it. I think that was really good in terms of building up where I am."
Dodger Stadium was bustling in the leadup to first pitch, with crowds arriving early to snag the day's giveaway, a replica of Ohtani's World Series ring. Those in attendance settled in to watch as Ohtani began his day on the mound with two scoreless innings before surrendering a run to the Cardinals in the third. Jordan Walker reached when second baseman Miguel Rojas lost a popup in the sun, then eventually came around to score on Brendan Donovan’s bunt single.
With the Dodgers trailing, Trade Deadline acquisition Alex Call doubled to lead off the bottom of the third, his first hit since joining the team. Two batters later, Ohtani took Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore deep for a booming blast to left-center at 109.5 mph off the bat.
It had been nine games since Ohtani had last gone deep, his second-longest homerless drought of the season.
Ohtani concluded his afternoon on the mound by striking out the side in the next half-inning. He struck out eight of the 14 hitters he faced without allowing a walk, throwing 54 pitches (37 strikes) to complete his longest outing of the season. He threw six pitches at 100 mph or higher, twice as many as he's thrown in a game across eight starts (previous high was three on June 28 at Kansas City).
"I like watching him when we're not here," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.
But Ohtani's big afternoon wasn't enough to lift the Dodgers.
L.A. led by one until the top of the eighth, when lefty Alex Vesia labored through an uncharacteristic outing. St. Louis had two on with two outs, and Jordan Walker brought home the tying run on a base hit and stretched for second base. Rookie third baseman Alex Freeland thought he had a chance to get Walker, but he misfired, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
"It never feels good," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of spoiling Ohtani's performance with a loss. "Shohei was really good today. The pitching, fastball command, fantastic. Really impressive. ... Unfortunately, you got to play defense and you got to have other guys put together at-bats and score runs, too."
Returning to being a two-way player has been an adjustment for Ohtani. He's been doing it throughout his playing career, but there has been somewhat of a learning curve as he learns how to balance the different workloads again.
Even as Ohtani’s production at the plate has ticked down since his return to the mound, he continues to impress with how he handles everything.
"It’s crazy," Rojas said. "He was in the game late last night, running the bases, then he comes in today and pitches like he did, hits a homer. It’s crazy what he can do."