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Shohei Ohtani will only pitch for Dogers in Mets series finale
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- Shohei Ohtani will only pitch for Dogers in Mets series finale
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As the Los Angeles Dodgers look to close out their first series of the 2026 MLB season against the New York Mets , Shohei Ohtani will take the mound in his pursuit of becoming the first-ever Japanese-born player to win a Cy Young award .
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In a very interesting twist of fate, pitching is all Ohtani will be doing against the Mets as, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Dodgers' two-way star will not DH for the first time since he took up two-way duties for LA last year.
" Shohei Ohtani starts on the mound tonight, but that's all," Woo wrote. "He won't DH, marking the first time he hasn't done two-way duties on a start day since he became a Dodger."
With Ohtani sticking to just pitching duties for the Dodgers in the series finale against the Mets, LA will give Dalton Rushing the nod at DH, where he will look to keep his hot streak going from the team's East Coast road trip. In back-to-back action against the Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays , Rushing scored four runs on five hits, including three home runs over seven total at-bats. Granted, Rushing wasn't as hot over the weekend when the Texas Rangers came to town and handed the Dodgers a loss, but he still scored a run on a double, bringing his season average to .539 and his slugging percentage to 1.308.
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With opposing teams – and their fanbases – complaining about how long it takes for Ohtani to transition from pitching to hitting when he leads off, some wondered if Dave Roberts could instead shift his two-way MVP back to second in order to have some extra time to get ready. Instead, Roberts is trying something different by giving Rushing a shot at DH, which, when LA is going six pitchers deep in their rotation, isn't the worst way to afford Ohtani the occasional rest while remaining a very effective weapon for the team all the same.
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