Rockies Pitchers Set to Challenge Dodgers’ Ohtani at Coors Field

Victor Vodnik smiled at the thought of telling his three daughters about facing Shohei Ohtani. Ariel, Rose and Viviana figure in the reliever’s narrative. He expects the moment to be one for the family scrapbook.

Series setup at Coors Field

The Dodgers arrive off a 14-4 start. They open a four-game set at Coors Field on Friday night. Weather could affect the schedule.

Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in the series. He started Wednesday in New York and is expected to serve as designated hitter. The Dodgers used a deep bullpen approach for the series opener.

Ohtani’s recent work and injury status

Ohtani fired six innings in Los Angeles’ 8-2 win over the Mets. He allowed one run and struck out 10 batters. His three-start ERA sits at 0.50.

He generated 22 swings and misses in that outing. Ohtani did not bat the same night. He remained sore after being hit on the right shoulder by a David Peterson pitch on Monday.

Coors Field history and power numbers

Coors has been fertile ground for Ohtani. In 20 career games there he has a .387/.452/.773 slash line. He has seven home runs at the ballpark.

One of those homers traveled 476 feet. That long blast came off Austin Gomber on June 18, 2024. Last August he took a rough turn, allowing five runs in four innings.

Past matchups and milestones

Ohtani’s first regular-season start at Coors came last year. He also started the 2021 All-Star Game, retiring three batters while going 0-for-2 at the plate. Against Colorado last August he surrendered a career-high-tying nine hits in an 8-3 loss.

Rockies pitchers’ plans and perspectives

Rockies pitchers plan to challenge the Dodgers’ star when he reaches Coors Field. The staff expects to mix velocity and offspeed pitches. They will try to disrupt his timing.

Victor Vodnik outlined his approach. He trusts changeups and back-foot sliders to work inside. He believes attacking the inner half can exploit Ohtani’s long barrel coverage.

Individual matchups to watch

• Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled to start Friday. He faced Ohtani once in the majors, on Sept. 7 last season. In that Camden Yards game, Ohtani hit his 47th and 48th homers in a 5-2 Dodgers win.
• Kyle Freeland has seen Ohtani’s power firsthand. Ohtani is 7-for-11 with two homers against him. Freeland is on the injured list with a sore shoulder.
• Ryan Feltner is lined up to start Saturday. He has limited Ohtani to one double in seven at-bats and struck him out on three pitches in Los Angeles on April 15 last season.

Clubroom notes

Ohtani, 31, has four MVP trophies from the past five seasons. Each award was unanimous. Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said Ohtani is pursuing a Cy Young.

Vodnik called Ohtani “a great player.” He added that he approaches every hitter the same way. Vodnik believes his game plan gives him a favorable matchup.

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