Ohtani pitches through blister as Dodgers beat Rays 5-4

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani battled through a painful, bleeding blister on his pitching hand to earn a victory against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. Despite turning in his roughest outing of the season, Ohtani completed six innings as the Dodgers secured a 5-4 win.

The two-way superstar surrendered a season-high four earned runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out five. The damage came in a single troublesome inning, which multiple reports identified as either the fourth or fifth inning, where the Rays strung together hits to plate all four runs. Television cameras later captured Ohtani heading to the dugout with blood visible on the middle finger of his right hand, with the blister having opened during the game. The blood was significant enough to drip onto his uniform.

Ohtani downplayed the injury after the game, stating through a translator that feeling less than 100 percent is just part of the game. He expressed satisfaction with the team's win and said he felt good overall aside from the one difficult inning. The outing marked the first time this season Ohtani has allowed multiple earned runs in consecutive starts.