Jared Jones NL Rookie of the Year campaign heats up after making Shohei Ohtani look foolish

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie starter Jared Jones was given a big task last night. Following his worst outing of his big-league career, Jones was asked to shut down a Dodgers lineup while being given nearly no offensive support.

He had just surrendered seven runs to the Detroit Tigers, and a few days later, he had to face the $700 million DH, Shohei Ohtani.

And man, did Jones make Ohtani look foolish in their first three meetings against each other.

Jared Jones Rookie of the Year campaign gains some steam

Jones would face Ohtani three times en route to throwing six shutout innings and recording a win on Tuesday night. In those three at bats, Ohtani would record four outs for the Dodgers -- two of them by way of swinging strikeout.

The rookie had it all working for him against the Dodgers. In the first inning, Jones threw one of the hardest fastballs that a starter has thrown all season, 101 MPH, to blow Ohtani's doors off and strike him out on a pitch way out of the zone.

But Jones wasn't done adding to his highlight reel. Next time through the order, Ohtani would ground into a double play. The final time facing him, Jones would work the count to 3-2 before throwing a slider up in the zone, probably missing his spot, but it didn't matter. Ohtani swung right through it, marking him down for two strikeouts against the 22-year-old rookie.

After his six shutout innings against Los Angeles, Jones has tossed 69.1 innings with 76 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.25. It's truly remarkable work from the rookie.

It would be hard to argue that Jones has recorded strikeouts that made him feel better than those two Ks against, probably the best player in the sport.

The NL Rookie of the Year campaign is still an uphill battle though. Jones has to compete with his teammate, the first pick in last year's draft, Paul Skenes. He also has to compete with the two Japanese star pitchers who transitioned over from Japan this year, Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Either way, Jones is looking to heat up now. This last outing was the best of his young career. He will look to build off that. But if he can keep rolling, lower his ERA below a 2.75 and continue to strike hitters out, he could run into that Rookie of the Year award without having to worry about the other talent.