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Shohei Ohtani downplayed the impact of a blister on his pitching hand after his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, per staff reporting at DodgerBlue.com. Ohtani was one out away from completing seven innings with just one run allowed before Brandon Lowe connected on a 3-0 fastball for a two-run double that ended his night. The Dodgers still led 6-3 at that point. Ohtani finished with six strikeouts but also walked four batters, and he addressed both the blister and his experience pitching to Dalton Rushing behind the plate after the game.

The blister is the kind of thing that sounds minor until it isn’t. Ohtani has dealt with various physical hurdles throughout his career — the two Tommy John surgeries being the obvious headline items — but blisters can be sneaky for pitchers. They affect grip, which affects command, which may partly explain the four walks. Ohtani’s stuff is so elite that he can pitch through imperfection better than almost anyone in the sport, and a near-seven-inning outing with one earned run (before the Lowe double) is proof of that. But we should keep an eye on whether the blister shows up in his next start. If it lingers, it can alter how a pitcher throws his fastball and compromise everything that branches off it.

The four walks stand out. Ohtani has generally been a strike-thrower this season, so a start where he’s issuing free passes at that rate suggests something was off — whether that’s the blister, the feel of pitching to a different catcher, or just an inconsistent night. He seemed unconcerned in his postgame comments, and I’m inclined to take him at his word for now. Ohtani is honest about his body and doesn’t tend to wave off things that genuinely worry him.

As for the Rushing angle — with Will Smith now officially on the injured list with neck stiffness, Rushing is going to be the primary backstop for the foreseeable future. That means more starts catching Ohtani, and the rapport between a pitcher and catcher matters more than people think, especially at this level. Rushing is still early in his big-league career, a former first-round pick with enormous upside who’s shown flashes both offensively and defensively. Getting regular reps with Ohtani could accelerate his development in a meaningful way. Ohtani didn’t seem bothered by the change behind the plate, which is a good sign for the pairing going forward.

Lowe, for his part, did what good hitters do — he sat on a pitch in a favorable count and drove it. A 3-0 fastball from Ohtani is still a 3-0 fastball, and Lowe has enough pop to make you pay if you leave one over the plate. That at-bat was more about Ohtani losing the strike zone than Lowe doing anything extraordinary, but credit where it’s due.

Big picture: the Dodgers won comfortably, Ohtani turned in another quality outing despite an imperfect night, and the blister doesn’t appear to be a serious concern — yet. I’d watch his next bullpen session and start closely. If the walks normalize and the blister doesn’t resurface, this is just a footnote. If it does, we’ll have a different conversation.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: June 11, 2026 2:16 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers