LOS ANGELES -- On Wednesday night, the Dodgers celebrated Shohei Ohtani 's offensive prowess with a bobblehead commemorating his 2024 50-50 campaign . They also saw their two-way star take a major step forward on the pitching side.

For the first time as a Dodger, Ohtani completed five innings, allowing just one run while setting season highs with nine strikeouts and 87 pitches in L.A.’s series finale against the Reds at Dodger Stadium.

When one’s repertoire consists of seven types of pitches, a pitcher can look very different from start to start.

On Wednesday, Ohtani’s curveball got much greater play than in his previous outings. He threw it 23 times, accounting for 26 percent of his pitches; he’d thrown a total of 11 combined through his first 10 starts.

It proved to be an effec

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