There seems to be no bigger critic of Shohei Ohtani than Ohtani himself. While the fans were once again left in awe as Ohtani flirted with no-hitters till the sixth and hit a leadoff homer on Wednesday against the Rockies, his f-bomb at the mound hinted at his frustrations. After the game, Ohtani opens up about his unhappiness with his pitching numbers, despite finishing off with 7 SOs and 1 ER from 6 innings.

“I would rather take the days where I get hit a little bit but still be efficient,” MLB insider Jack Harris quoted Ohtani.

Ohtani started the game dominantly till the fourth, but the Dodger Stadium crowd heard his f-bomb at the second when his fastball walked the Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar. His frustration returned in the fourth when Ohtani walked Hunter Goodman, which enabled the runner, TJ Rumfield, to cover the next. Two hits in the next two balls, and the Rockies scored their only run of the game.

Although Ohtani had a dominant night at the mound, he still walked four batters, which justifies his frustration. His 4 walks are the highest since July 2023, when he was with the Angels. “Command was off, and I just felt like I was battling the lack of it,” Ohtani added. “Rather than walking and just not being able to pitch deeper into the game.”

Still, despite giving 4 walks, Ohtani didn’t give up any hard hits. He put together a quality start and improved his ERA to a sparkling 0.82. And yes, the Dodgers are atop the NL West. Moreover, he compensated for his 1 ER by hitting a leadoff homer. So, Wednesday was never a dud game for Ohtani, but as they say, good is the best critic of the best.

“This guy is just a crazy good competitor,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The great ones, you look at six innings, no-hit ball [and think] that could’ve been seven or eight. That’s what makes guys like that special.”

Since joining the Dodgers, fans eagerly waited to see Shohei Ohtani back on the mound. He returned and gradually increased his workload. The current phase might be the best the Dodgers are having with him. As he had a homer on his pitching day on Wednesday, this makes it two games in a row. Ohtani’s last pitching was against the Padres. That day, he also had a leadoff homer.

He had achieved the same in the 2025 NLCS Game 4, and now it is getting common in the regular season. This makes him an unlikely frontrunner in the NL Cy Young award race.

Shohei Ohtani’s Cy Young race is getting real

Ohtani has already won all the possible accolades in MLB, as far as batting is concerned. Cy Young award is the only one left in his cabinet, and 2026 could also add that.

“Lowest ERA in first 9 starts of season, since ER official (1913) excl openers: 2021 Jacob deGrom: 0.62 1966 Juan Marichal: 0.69 1914 Dutch Leonard: 0.76 2026 Shohei Ohtani: 0.82 2009 Zack Greinke: 0.82 1919 Eddie Cicotte: 0.82,” MLB insider Sarah Langs shared a historic context of Ohtani’s pitching greatness. This sums up how unhittable Ohtani is this season.

This year, Ohtani is leveraging his four-seam fastballs most (44%). Those averages around 97.9 mph, followed by splitter, curveball, and sinker against left-handed hitters. He currently leads the NL pitching stats in terms of ERA, but trails in terms of SOs and innings pitched. Considering his workload at the plate, Ohtani may be able to pitch more frequently to go ahead of Jacob Misiorowski or Christopher Sanchez, which would hamper his Cy Young race.

Still, with how Shohei Ohtani is putting up numbers at the mound besides being dominant at the plate, we would not be surprised if he stays in the race till the last. Even if not, the NL MVP award would be there.