The Los Angeles Dodgers are still buzzing after Shohei Ohtani’s awe-inspiring home run in their game against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. But the Dodgers know they can’t rest on their laurels, and they’ll need to bring their best game in Wednesday’s matinee to secure a series win.
Ohtani’s ninth-inning blast traveled 450 feet into the upper deck beyond right field, and it was registered as the hardest-hit ball in the major leagues this year at 118.7 mph. It was also the highest exit velocity of any ball hit by Ohtani in his major league career, and it had the top speed of any Dodgers home run in the Statcast era (since 2015).
Los Angeles’ James Outman, who provided a go-ahead, pinch-hit double in the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ 4-1 win, was still in awe of Ohtani’s homer.
“Can we talk about Shohei’s home run?” Outman said. “That was absurd. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
The Dodgers will send Landon Knack (0-1, 3.60 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday. Knack made his big-league debut last Wednesday against Washington, allowing two runs in the first inning before blanking the Nationals for the next four frames.
“It was slowing things down with myself, take my breath, and after that it made it a lot smoother,” Knack said.
The Nationals will counter with Jake Irvin (1-1, 3.13 ERA), who blanked the Dodgers across six innings in a combined four-hit shutout last Wednesday.
“We couldn’t hit with runners on bases,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “When we have chances to put some runs on the board, we have to capitalize. The story of the day was the offense just couldn’t score any runs.”
The Nationals took outfielder Lane Thomas out of Tuesday’s game due to a leg injury, and his status is unclear.
“We don’t know anything,” Martinez said. “He’s pretty stiff, (so) he’ll get an MRI (on Wednesday).”
The Dodgers are hoping to build on Tuesday’s win and continue their momentum on their nine-game road trip.
“(Starting) off the road trip with the win,” Outman said. “It’s good to get the momentum rolling a little bit.”
First pitch for Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park.
