Shohei Ohtani just made it harder for the rest of the National League to catch him atop the MVP ladder.
The 31-year-old Ohtani had another impressive outing on the mound on Wednesday, as he tamed the Arizona Diamondbacks hitters in a 7-0 win at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.
In his 10th start of the 2026 season, Ohtani tossed six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and issuing a walk while striking out six. His scintillating performance further lowered his ERA to just 0.74.
That ERA after 10 starts to begin a season is among the lowest in baseball history.
According to ESPN Insights, that’s the third-lowest ERA over the same stretch ever.
Only Jacob deGrom (0.56) in 2021 and Juan Marichal (0.59) in 1966 had better ERAs through 10 starts than Ohtani.
The reigning NL MVP also inflicted damage on Arizona with his offense. Ohtani went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two walks.
So far this season, the five-time All-Star has a 6-2 record with a ridiculous 154 ERA+. Batting-wise, he is hitting 301/.420/.521 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs.
Thanks in large part to Ohtani’s brilliance, the Dodgers won their 40th game of the season against 22 losses heading into the series finale versus Arizona on Thursday.
