Sep 23, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA – To Phillies fans, it may not always feel like it, but the 2025 Phillies are actually very good at hitting baseballs.
They're so good, in fact, that their team-wide batting average of .258 tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for second-best in MLB this season, behind only the Toronto Blue Jays' .265.
They are very, very good at hitting baseballs. I know this. So imagine my surprise when I learned from my colleague Anthony SanFilippo that none of the hitters in the Phillies' Game 1 NLDS lineup have ever gotten a hit off the Los Angeles Dodgers' Game 1 starting pitcher, Shohei Ohtani.
None of them. Not one hit. Ever.
How could this be?!
Ohtani faced the Phillies as a pitcher for the first time in his career on Sept. 17 in Los Angeles. He handled the lineup beautifully to the tune of five hitless innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
Even the starting Phillies who have faced Ohtani on another team have never registered a hit. While on the Minnesota Twins, Harrison Bader saw one at-bat against Ohtani on July 21. He struck out swinging.
Ohtani K's Bader 🔥
©️SportsNetLA pic.twitter.com/anZw21UceY
— James¹⁷¹⁸🎌 (@ShotimeLAD) July 22, 2025
Max Kepler had three at-bats against Ohtani back in 2018, when Kepler was a Twin and Ohtani was a Los Angeles Angel. Ohtani also struck Kepler out.
Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto have yet to face Ohtani, so they have no statistics to show.
But Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott are 0-for-1, Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh are 0-for-2, Bader is 0-for-3 and Kepler is 0-for-5 against Ohtani.
In other words, the first Phillie to register a hit off Ohtani Saturday evening will be the first Phillie to register a hit off Ohtani... ever.
However, funnily enough, there is a player on the Phillies' Game 1 bench who has a hit off Ohtani. Way back in 2018, then-Detroit Tiger Nick Castellanos faced Ohtani and went 2-for-3 with two doubles. That was Ohtani's rookie year, so a lot has changed since then, but at least someone on the roster has a hit against him.
It's also worth noting that Ohtani has never taken the mound at Citizens Bank Park. Saturday will be his first time pitching in Philadelphia, and it'll be his first time pitching in the postseason, period.
Yeah, the entire Phillies' lineup has a grand total of zero career hits against Ohtani. But there's no time like the present, right?
