Colin Cowherd Drops Bold No-Hitter Claim Regarding Shohei Ohtani Following 1st Pitching Start of 2026 Season

Shohei Ohtani threw 6 scoreless innings, gave up just 1 hit and picked up 6 strikeouts in his first pitching appearance in the 2026 season.

Colin Cowherd Drops Bold No-Hitter Claim Regarding Shohei Ohtani Following 1st Pitching Start of 2026 Season

Shohei Ohtani and Colin Cowherd (Image via MLB/Awful Announcing)

On Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani made his first pitching start of the 2026 season. The Japanese international threw six scoreless innings against the Cleveland Guardians. Following this, Colin Cowherd dropped a bold no-hitter claim regarding him.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star returned to his two-way style of playing in June last year. After suffering an elbow injury in August 2023, he did not take to the mound and played just as the designated hitter (DH) in the 2024 season.

In 14 regular-season starts in 2025, Ohtani went 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 47.0 innings. In the postseason, he went 2-1 in 4 starts with a 4.43 ERA and 28 strikeouts.

After losing 4-2 in the series opener, he took to the mound on Tuesday. In his first start of the new campaign, he dominated the Guardians hitters and gave up just 1 hit and issued 3 walks. He also picked up 6 strikeouts.

Ohtani’s two-way style of playing has often led to comparisons with Hall of Famer Babe Ruth. The late New York Yankees star is the only other player in MLB history to play both as a hitter and a pitcher.

On Wednesday, Colin Cowherd made some big comments regarding Ohtani. On “The Herd“, the 62-year-old expressed that had Ohtani been pitching in Ruth’s era, he would be throwing no-hitters in every game.

I think the quality of baseball players has improved now that the sport is so global. It’s unbelievable. If Ohtani were pitching back during Babe Ruth’s day, I’ve got a feeling he would throw a no-hitter every outing.

Colin Cowherd said regarding Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani has never thrown a no-hitter in his MLB career. Despite some strong showings and taking some no-hit bids in later innings, he has yet to throw a no-no as a pitcher.

Speaking of the game on Tuesday, Ohtani went 1-for-3 with 2 walks. His strong showing from the mound saw the Dodgers emerge as 4-2 winners.

Shohei Ohtani is having slow start offensively

Shohei Ohtani had a dominating performance from the mound on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians. However, his offense is yet to take off in the 2026 season.

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (Image via X/@MLB)

The reigning National League MVP has struggled to make much impact with the bat this season. On Wednesday, he went 0-for-3 with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.

So far this season, the 31-year-old has gone 3-for-18 and has no RBIs and no home runs. For a player who hit 50 or more home runs in each of the last two seasons, this is a major slump in offense. His manager, Dave Roberts, however, is unfazed by this.

Honestly, I don’t think that I’m seeing him miss a lot of good pitches to hit… I do like the way he’s being selective and taking walks when they’re given.

Dave Roberts told the reporters regarding Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani was also not the only one who struggled with the bat on Wednesday. He, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Kyle Tucker went 1-for-18 in their 4-1 loss against the Guardians. Freeman was the one who got them on board with a 9th inning home run off Cade Smith.

With the loss, the Dodgers dropped the series and are 4-2 after 6 games. The Guardians, meanwhile are 4-3.

The Dodgers will now be on the road and take on the Washington Nationals first before locking horns with the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto in what will be the rematch of the 2025 World Series.

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