In a game where not much went right for the Oakland Athletics, catcher Jhonny Pereda gave fans a moment to remember, and probably a story he will tell forever.
During the Athletics’ 19–2 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pereda was called in to pitch the eighth inning. The game was already well out of reach, with Shohei Ohtani leading the charge. Ohtani had already hit two home runs and collected six RBIs on the night.
But when Pereda stepped onto the mound, he found himself against Ohtani, and what happened next was something nobody expected.
Dodgers Crush A’s, But Pereda Steals Moment
On just his third pitching appearance of the season, the 27-year-old Pereda mixed in a series of offspeed pitches, mostly around 62–68 mph. He then finished Ohtani off with an 89-mph fastball that the slugger foul-tipped into the glove for strike three.
A’s catcher Jhonny Pereda struck out Shohei Ohtani and tossed the ball into the dugout to be authenticated. pic.twitter.com/ozvpldPIvn
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 16, 2025
The crowd at Dodger Stadium cheered as Ohtani, who had dominated all night, walked back to the dugout.
Pereda later joked with reporters, saying: “That’s the only batter I wanted to face. I just didn’t want him to hit one back at me, it would’ve killed me.”
And smartly, he kept the baseball from the strikeout as a personal souvenir.
Despite the Athletics allowing 19 runs on 20 hits, Pereda’s strikeout stood out. It was a light-hearted moment in an otherwise rough night for the A’s, who dropped to one of the league’s worst records.
But for Jhonny Pereda, a catcher, not a pitcher, striking out one of the best players in the world was more than just a stat. It was baseball magic.
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