After being pulled from his pitching spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the thrice-MVP-winning unicorn was thrust into action against the Baltimore Orioles, replacing Tyler Glasnow, who was supposed to pitch but experienced back tightness on the flight from one AFC North stalwart to the other.

Now, for a pitcher who is among the most regimented in all of baseball, this additional insertion into the starting lineup was somewhat surprising, with Dave Roberts noting that he would be given a lesser workload than his usual five innings to help him out. But on the mound, Ohtani looked solid, throwing 3.2 innings while surrendering three hits versus five strikeouts on 70 pitches.

And yet, when the Dodgers think back on an early September showdown against the Orioles, they won't recall his 101 mph heaters, or that Anthony Bonda replaced him, but instead a very unfortunate tag out that saw the home run-hitting pitcher get an out on balls.

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Ouch, talk about adding insult to injury.

While some – read: Phillies fans – have questioned how much Ohtani's pitching has really played into his MVP campaign, with his 4.18 ERA often used as an excuse to prop up Kyle Schwarber, against the Orioles, on unusual rest, starting pitching wasn't the Dodgers' biggest problem, with the team instead struggling to get much going with their bats. Fortunately, Ohtani is one of the Dodgers' best players in that department too, with his 46 home runs nearly double the team's next-best hitter, at his 125 runs, .606 slugging, and .993 OPS all the best in baseball. Throw that all together, and it's clear Ohtani is one of the best ball players in the game, even if he occasionally uses that prowess to get outs in a way that batters would rather avoid.