During the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 10-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday, Nats reliever Gus Varland struck out Shohei Ohtani on three pitches in the seventh inning. The third-year reliever got the reigning back-to-back National League MVP to swing and miss at two sliders low and inside.
By itself, Ohtani striking out might not seem notable, especially when the Dodgers had a 10-2 lead in the seventh. Although the two-way superstar is off to a slow start as a hitter, posting a slash line of .247/.395/.345 with one home run, four RBI and seven walks in 38 plate appearances.
Aquí vemos un turno de Shoei Ohtani siendo ponchado por Gus Varland el día de ayer 3 de abril. Algo normal de un juego de béisbol.
Lo que pasaron por desapercibido del momento, es el reencuentro. Ohtani ayudó a salvar la vida de la madre de Gus Varland, su ex compañero de… pic.twitter.com/n6Y1IacF8Q
— Bill 👽 (@itsbillnasty) April 4, 2026
However, Varland striking out Ohtani is worth highlighting. The two were briefly teammates in 2024 when Varland appeared in seven games before he was placed on waivers. The pitcher told his teammates that his mother had cancer. But he and his brother, Louis (then with the Minnesota Twins), couldn’t cover the cost of the treatments for amyloidosis.
Ohtani then made “a very, very big contribution,” as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts put it when telling the story last December.
Shohei Ohtani made a “big contribution” to former Dodgers teammate Gus Varland, whose mom was battling cancer a couple years ago
Dave Roberts saw her at the World Series supporting her other son, Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland. She told him her cancer is gone
(via @ANNnewsCH) pic.twitter.com/qwBhUpuDh0
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) December 8, 2025
“Shohei made a very, very big contribution to help get one of his teammates treatment.” Roberts explained in an interview with Japanese media. “That was a big moment. I thought everyone appreciated that.”
“Ironically, that player we had, his brother pitched for the Blue Jays in the World Series,” he continued. “And I saw the mom during the World Series and I said, ‘How are you doing?’ She said, ‘The cancer is gone.’”
“Shohei does a lot of great things,” Roberts added. “But a lot of what he does is on the down-low, quiet, so people don’t talk about it.”
Varland has struck out Ohtani twice in the series, also retiring him on three pitches in the fifth inning of Friday’s 13-6 Dodgers win. In that at-bat, Varland challenged Ohtani in the strike zone with two 96 mph fastballs before getting him to swing and miss at a higher 97 mph pitch.
Six pitches, two outs for against Ohtani looks pretty good for Varland. However, he’s surely far more grateful for the help that the $700 million Dodgers star provided when his family was most in need.