Surprise! Shohei Ohtani strikes out against Athletics’ position player

By Canadian Press on May 16, 2025.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had quite a game on his bobblehead night. Two home runs, six runs.

Then Jhonny Pereda struck him out.

The Athletics’ backup catcher faced Ohtani in the eighth inning Thursday night.

Pereda gave up three straight hits against the bottom of the Dodgers’ order. With Los Angeles leading 17-2, Ohtani came up with a chance to pile on.

Pereda’s first four pitches to the Japanese superstar were between 62 and 68 mph. Ohtani took a called first strike and later fouled off another pitch.

Then Perada threw an 89-mph fastball.

Ohtani’s foul tip was caught and one of the major leagues’ homer leaders went down swinging.

“He struck out against a position player, how about that?” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Perada kept the ball as a souvenir.

Miguel Rojas came up next and used Ohtani’s bat to get a RBI single.

“It’s kind of like, `Hey, I’ll show you how it’s done,'” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said, smiling.

The Dodgers beat the A’s 19-2.

Ohtani has homered on three of his four bobblehead nights as a Dodger. He hit a walk-off homer on his previous bobblehead night April 2.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Beth Harris, The Associated Press