Wednesday against the Cardinals, Ohtani pitched four innings, struck out eight, and allowed a run on two third-inning hits that strung together wouldn’t have left the infield: A popup by Jordan Walker that second baseman Miguel Rojas lost in the sun, and a gutsy two-out squeeze bunt by Brendan Donovan that scored Walker from third.

The righthander gave up one run on two hits, throwing 37 of 54 pitches for strikes and also launching a two-run homer, his 39th of the season.

Shohei Ohtani pitched four dominant innings in what qualified as his best start this season, during which he struck out eight batters. He also clobbered his 39th home run, registering his 1,000th career hit in the process.