Padres pregame: Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting leadoff against Shohei Ohtani in series finale
The Padres don't have a lot of history with Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher.
But it's been good history.
The Padres knocked him around as an Angel at Petco Park in 2023 and faced him in his first game back from Tommy John last year at Dodger Stadium. On Wednesday, they'll face the two-way player for the third time as a pitcher.
First pitch is at 5:40 p.m. on Padres.TV.
Ohtani (3-2, 0.82 ERA) allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings on July 4, 2023. Both Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth took him deep.
Ohtani threw a shutout three turns later, but he was on the shelf before the end of August with a balky elbow that would ultimately require his second Tommy John surgery.
Two years later, Ohtani finally made his Dodgers mound debut against the Padres - after spending all of 2024 as a DH - and allowed a run on two hits in an inning of work.
Here is how current/healthy Padres have fared against Ohtani on the mound:
All seven of Ohtani's starts this year have been quality starts and he's thrown seven innings in each of his last two starts (1.29 ERA). Ohtani has a 50-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 44 innings.
Ohtani is also in Wednesday's lineup as a hitter for the first time since April 22 as the Dodgers had limited his two-way duty during a slump.
Ohtani was hitting .205/.326/.308 over a 22-game stretch before beginning a six-game hitting streak on May 12.
Padres right-hander Randy Vásquez (5-1, 2.68 ERA) is coming off six shutout innings in Seattle on Friday, his first quality start since April 21 at Coors Field. Vásquez has not walked a batter in any of his last two starts (11 IP, 1 ER). Vásquez had a 4.05 ERA in 13⅓ innings last year against the Dodgers.
Here is how Vásquez has fared against current Dodgers:
The Padres will go with a new familiar lineup for the series final, with Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base and in the leadoff spot, DH Miguel Andujar in the two-hole and Gavin Sheets at first base and batting third. Nick Castellanos will start in right field, Ramón Laureano is back in left field and Freddy Fermin will catch a second straight game over Rodolfo Durán.
Here is how the Dodgers, a half-game ahead of the Padres, will line up on Wednesday:
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 2:42 PM.