PHOENIX -- Shohei Ohtani is looking like a formidable force on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers as October baseball approaches, while their bullpen continues to be a liability.
The two-way star had his third straight scoreless outing Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, throwing a season-high six innings and striking out eight.
The Dodgers led 4-0 when Ohtani left the game, but the D-backs rallied against the bullpen for a 5-4 victory.
Arizona trailed 4-3 entering the ninth, before Jorge Barrosa tied the game with a sacrifice fly to deep left. Then Geraldo Perdomo ripped a two-out single to left field off Dodgers closer Tanner Scott that scored Tim Tawa from second base for the winning run.
The 31-year-old Ohtani has slowly built up his pitch count as he returns from elbow surgery that kept him off the mound for the entire 2024 season. He threw a season-high 91 pitches in his 100th career big league mound start.
The right-hander's fastball was consistently in the 98 to 100 mph range, hitting 101.2 on one delivery and often overpowering the D-backs hitters. He gave up five hits, all singles. He also started an athletic double play to end the fifth, darting off the mound to field a soft grounder from James McCann and firing to Tommy Edman at second, who threw to first.
Ohtani, who has 53 homers this season, batted leadoff and went 0-for-3 with a walk in his four plate appearances.
Ohtani worked five hitless innings in his last start on Sept. 16 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.