Ohtani homers for 1,000th hit and strikes out 8, but Cardinals rally past Dodgers 5-3

LOS ANGELES (AP) Shohei Ohtani homered for his 1,000th career hit and struck out a season-high eight in four innings on the mound, but the St. Louis Cardinals rallied late to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Wednesday.

Jordan Walker had three hits for the Cardinals, including an RBI single off Alex Vesia (2-1) that tied the score with two outs in the eighth. St. Louis took a 4-3 lead on the same play when rookie third baseman Alex Freeland made a costly throwing error while trying to get Walker at second.

Lars Nootbaar added a run-scoring double off reliever Brock Stewart in the ninth.

Walker was a late addition to the starting lineup. He replaced Willson Contreras, who had a stomach bug.

JoJo Romero (4-3) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Riley O’Brien got four outs for his first major league save.

Ohtani allowed one run and two hits in his eighth start this season. He struck out the side in the fourth.

The two-way superstar didn’t pitch in 2024 while rehabbing from elbow surgery, though he helped Los Angeles win the World Series with an MVP season at the plate.

Ohtani launched a two-run shot in the third, putting the Dodgers ahead 2-1 with his 39th homer of the year. They added a run in the fourth when Andy Pages stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Pedro Pagés.

St. Louis cut it to 3-2 in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Nootbaar.

Ohtani gave up his first stolen base of the season when Walker swiped second in the third.

The Dodgers got the leadoff man aboard in five straight innings, including Ohtani twice. The Cardinals did the same over the last four innings.

Cardinals rookie Michael McGreevy (3-2, 5.08 ERA) starts against Matthew Boyd (11-4, 2.34) and the visiting Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-2, 3.29 ERA) pitches against Toronto RHP Max Scherzer (2-1, 4.39) on Friday in a matchup between members of the 3,000-strikeout club.

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