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Did you know Shohei Ohtani has never faced the Mets?
At least, half of Ohtani has never faced the Mets. The pitcher half. (The hitter half of him has faced the Mets plenty of times.) But that all changes tonight.
We get the full two-way Ohtani show in the Dodgers' series finale against the Mets at Dodger Stadium -- which will also be the grand finale of Jackie Robinson Day (10:10 p.m. ET on ESPN).
It's going to be a marquee matchup. Will the Mets be able to snap their seven-game losing streak against the reigning MVP -- who's trying to lead the MLB-best Dodgers to a sweep of New York?
Here's what to keep an eye on during Shohei's showdown with the Mets:
1) Will he keep his on-base streak at the plate?
Ohtani has reached base in 48 consecutive games as a hitter -- by far the longest active streak in the Majors, and the third-longest in Dodgers franchise history. Next up for Ohtani on that front is Hall of Famer Wee Willie Keeler, who had a 50-game on-base streak when the Dodgers were still the Brooklyn Superbas at the turn of the 20th century.
Shohei has crushed the Mets as a hitter. He has a .282 career batting average with five home runs, 13 RBIs and a .987 OPS in 19 regular-season games against New York. And then there was the 2024 National League Championship Series, when Ohtani batted .364 with a pair of homers and a 1.185 OPS as the Dodgers eliminated the Mets.
2) Will he keep his 0.00 ERA on the mound?
Ohtani doesn't just have the longest active on-base streak in the Majors. He also has the longest streak of innings pitched without allowing an earned run among all MLB starting pitchers: 28 2/3 innings going back to last season.
Ohtani has a perfect 0.00 ERA through his first two pitching starts of 2026, having allowed just a single unearned run in 12 innings, with eight strikeouts. All seven pitches in his arsenal should be on display against the Mets, but pay extra attention to his sweeper, which he's been featuring heavily against right-handed hitters, and his curveball-splitter 1-2 punch against lefties.
3) How will the Ohtani-Bichette rematch play out?
The must-watch individual matchup of this game will be Ohtani on the mound vs. Bo Bichette at the plate. It's a rematch of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, when Bichette -- then with the Blue Jays -- crushed a huge three-run homer off Ohtani, who was starting for the Dodgers.
Bichette's now with the Mets, where he's starting to bounce back after a slow start, and he'll get another shot at Ohtani tonight.
