Shohei Ohtani has played only 78 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he already holds a place in team lore.
Ohtani can establish a frachise record if he drives in a run during Wednesday’s visit to the struggling Chicago White Sox.
Ohtani has collected at least one RBI in nine straight games. He’s the fifth Dodger to accomplish the feat and first to do so since Matt Kemp did it bridging the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Lately, Ohtani has struck from the leadoff spot while filling in for an injured Mookie Betts.
“Just really swinging at pitches that I’m supposed to swing at within the zone and making sure that I’m laying off pitches outside the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter Tuesday.
Chicago started the game with a flourish, responding to Ohtani’s National League-best 24th homer this season with a three-run first inning. Andrew Benintendi smacked a two-run shot to open the scoring for the White Sox and Eloy Jimenez had an RBI double.
Clutch hits were all but nonexistent after that in an eventual 4-3 defeat. Chicago went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position while stranding 10. Gavin Sheets was 2-for-4 as the White Sox out-hit the Dodgers 8-7.
The White Sox are a major-league-worst 21-60 at the season’s midway point.
“It’s been tough,” Benintendi said. “I think it might look a lot uglier than it actually is. I think we’ve played a lot of one-run ballgames. We’ve put together maybe one, two good weeks. But we’ve got 81 games left. Just keep trucking. Keep working on things. Keep getting better.”
Dodgers starter Gavin Stone will look to pitch Los Angeles to a series sweep as he faces the White Sox for the first time in his career.
Stone (8-2, 3.04 ERA) is 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA in four starts in June. On Thursday, he delivered 5 1/3 innings of two-run, four-hit ball to defeat the host Colorado Rockies.
Stone walked two and matched a career high with seven strikeouts.
“I think (Thursday), early on in his first five innings, I thought the command was unbelievable,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s been nothing but phenomenal for us, and he’ll be ready for the next one.”
A fellow righty, Chicago’s Erick Fedde (5-2, 3.05) also has pitched effectively in June. Fedde is 1-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four starts this month, all on the road. He took a tough-luck loss in Friday’s start at Detroit, allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings, and will hope to benefit from improved run support.
Fedde retired the final 14 Tigers he faced. Although Chicago out-hit Detroit 6-5, the White Sox were unable to string together clutch hits against Jack Flaherty and two relievers.
In two appearances covering seven innings against the Dodgers, including one start, Fedde is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.
The White Sox announced that Wednesday’s game is sold out. It marks Chicago’s first sellout of the season and comes on Mexican Heritage Night at the stadium, with the team giving away Mexico-inspired jerseys.
–Field Level Media