Tomo

Ohka

Ohka will get a start or two before the season is over.

Ohka probably won’t have time to build up the stamina he’d need to be a starter, but maybe he’ll be able to act as a reliever for the Expos during the final month of the season.

Very impressive. Ohka gave up four hits and walked none. He now has a 2.30 ERA in 11 career starts versus the Phillies. His career high of 11 strikeouts came against Philadelphia three years ago.

This cuts into what value Ohka has in NL-only leagues. Santos should have already been dropped.

Ohka is 4-4 as a Brewer. He’s walked just 12 batters in 77 innings for the club. Prior to the trade bringing him from Washington, he had issued 27 free passes in 54 innings.

Ohka rebounded somewhat after a five-run first, but he wasn’t able to work deep into the game in order to save the bullpen. It’s the second straight outing in which he’s given up six runs. NL-only leaguers might want him benched for his start Sunday in Atlanta.

Ohka has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his last 11 starts, but since he was so bad in the other three appearances (19 ER in 9 2/3 IP), he’s only lowered his ERA from 4.79 to 4.51 since the streak began.

He was quite a bit more impressive at the plate than on the mound. After opening the game with three scoreless innings, he ended up allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings. Still, his bat helped him get the win in a 12-6 game. A career .130 hitter, he drove in three runs with two singles and another on a catcher’s interference call with the bases loaded.

Ohka is out with a partial torn rotator cuff. He won’t return before the second half of July.

Ohka was pain-free during a batting practice session on Tuesday. “He felt good last time but he guarded his effort,” manager Ned Yost said. “We told him he needed to pick it up if we were going to send him on a rehab assignment and, gosh, he looked good.”