Ohtani 'out of sync' with catcher Rushing, rebounds as Dodgers win - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — Shohei Ohtani forcefully rebounded from a rough inning on the mound to earn yet another win for the major league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

The two-way superstar carried his struggling catcher Dalton Rushing along with him, showing there's even more to his marvelous game than simply pitching and hitting.

Ohtani had eight strikeouts over six innings before yielding to the bullpen in the 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, and he helped himself at the plate with an RBI single to spark a three-run third inning that put the Dodgers in front for the rest of the night.

But the bottom of the second at Target Field — where the Twins announced their first sellout of the season — was ugly.

Three hits off Ohtani loaded the bases with one out, before he and Rushing got crossed up on a pitch that escaped the catcher's glove and zipped toward the backstop to let in a run. Two more scored on Ryan Kreidler's single that gave the Twins a 3-1 lead.

Rushing, the 2022 second-round draft pick who has temporarily taken over as the primary catcher while three-time All-Star Will Smith is on the injured list with neck inflammation, was expecting an off-speed pitch. Ohtani threw a 101 mph fastball, wincing with slumped shoulders as he saw the run come across. Rushing was charged with a passed ball, making one of the three runs against Ohtani unearned.

«They were just out of sync early, and you could tell,» Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. «I think both guys were frustrated and trying to get on the same page.»

Ohtani, through his interpreter after the game, offered his usual diplomatic assessment about his work with Rushing, who's in his second major league season.

«The in-game flexibility, reading the swings,