Cincinnati Reds lefthander Nick Lodolo was dealing on Tuesday night.
And surpisingly, one of Lodolo's repeat strikeout victims was none other than reigning National League MVP and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Lodolo struck out the side in the top of the first inning, and got Ohtani to chase a wicked curveball down-and-away. Then, the Reds lefty got Ohtani looking on a four-seam fastball in the top of the third inning.
But the Reds southpaw saved a particularly nasty breaking ball for Ohtani's third at-bat of the game. Lodolo threw three straight curveballs, the first of which Ohtani fouled off, the second of which he swung and missed. The third pitch was a filthy curveball that appeared to be headed towards the strike zone, but then yanked out of reach of Ohtani's outstretched bat.
Nick Lodolo had Shohei seeing ghosts pic.twitter.com/H4pw7zLgGN
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 30, 2025
So filthy was the pitch that Ohtani, armed with some of the best plate vision in the world, had to recalibrate his eyesight after the pitch. Or he was simply flabbergasted that he had whiffed for a third time in the contest against Lodolo.
Either way, it was a tough night for Ohtani. Even three-time MVPs have them.
As for Lodolo, the Reds pitcher recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of work.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shohei Ohtani Flabbergasted After Striking Out on Nick Lodolo's Nasty Breaking Ball.
