PHOENIX, Arizona (Kyodo) -- Shohei Ohtani pitched six shutout innings while reaching base five times Wednesday as he led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-0 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Skipper Dave Roberts announced Ohtani would rest from Thursday's series finale so he could "empty the tank" in his latest two-way outing, and the Japanese superstar apparently left nothing in reserve as he bolstered his early Cy Young Award and MVP candidacy at Chase Field.

Ohtani (6-2) struck out six and lowered his ERA to 0.74 while allowing just two hits and a walk. At the plate, he went 3-for-4 with two walks and a run scored in his fourth consecutive multi-hit game.

The right-hander threw 58 of his 89 pitches for strikes and did not allow a base runner until Gabriel Moreno's double with two out in the bottom of the fourth inning.

"My pitching was definitely better than it was in my previous outing," said Ohtani, who had allowed one run over six no-hit innings against the Colorado Rockies a week earlier. "I was able to make the necessary adjustments over the past week."

He led off the game by ripping a ground-ball single off Zac Gallen (3-5) and was able to work with an early lead thanks to Kyle Tucker's two-run home run in the second inning.

The Dodgers took control in a three-run third, with Ohtani scoring on Freddie Freeman's two-run single after drawing a walk.

Ohtani noted that most of his recent hits, including his three singles on Wednesday, had come against tough pitches.

"That's why the home runs haven't come, but I feel like I'm taking good swings," he said.

In other Major League Baseball action, Seiya Suzuki hit his eighth home run of the season for the Chicago Cubs, launching a solo shot over left center field in his team's 5-4 loss to the Athletics at Wrigley Field.