Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani became a two-way sensation again on Monday against the Padres, pitching in a major-league game for the first time since 2023.
His first pitch was a 97.6 mph fastball low in the strike zone, which Fernando Tatis Jr. fouled off. After three balls, Ohtani then got Tatis to swing and miss at a 98.3 mph fastball before the Padres right fielder hit a 99.1 mph inside fastball for a single.
With Luis Arraez at the plate in a 1-2 count, Tatis advanced to second on a wild pitch, which was clocked at 100.2 mph. Arraez followed by lining a low 98 mph sinker to center field and advancing Tatis to third base. That put him in position to score on the subsequent sacrifice fly by Manny Machado.
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Ohtani probably should’ve had a strikeout on Machado, but the Padres third baseman was ruled to have checked his swing on Ohtani’s 1-2 sweeper.
Ohtani allowed only that one run on two hits. He recorded the second out by getting Gavin Sheets to ground out to second base with an 98.9 mph fastball inside. He got out of the inning with a 95.4 mph sinker that Xander Bogaerts grounded to third.
After leaving the mound, Ohtani didn’t go to the dugout to talk with coaches or trainers. He went straight to the rail to put on his gear and bat leadoff. He struck out swinging against Padres starter Dylan Cease.
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Ohtani finished with 28 pitches, 16 of them for strikes, with three swing-and-misses. Anthony Banda took over to pitch for the Dodgers in the second inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced to reporters on Sunday that Ohtani would open the game, pitching one or two innings. He can then stay in the game as the designated hitter, thanks to a 2022 MLB rule change.
Typically, a pitcher returning from injury would go on a minor-league rehab assignment to face live hitters and play in game conditions. But with Ohtani so crucial to the Dodgers’ lineup, the team couldn’t afford to be without his bat.
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The Dodgers’ original plan was for Ohtani to throw to live hitters in simulated game conditions. But Ohtani believes that pitching a bullpen session requires the same preparation as throwing in an actual game. Thus, the decision was made for him to do so under shorter circumstances.
Ohtani had not pitched since undergoing elbow surgery in September 2023. His recovery timetable was pushed back after he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder during the World Series and required surgery to repair that injury.
In his MLB career as a pitcher, Ohtani has compiled a 3.01 ERA in 86 starts with a strikeout rate of 11.4 per nine innings over five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. — Casselberry
How did Ohtani look in his first outing?
Normally when a starting pitcher labors through a 28-pitch first inning and surrenders only one run, the frame’s conclusion is met with a sigh of relief that the hurler avoided more serious damage and can recuperate on the bench while his team hits.
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Shohei Ohtani, of course, is not a normal starting pitcher. Once Ohtani finally completed his first and only inning of work in his highly anticipated return to a major-league mound — an arduous navigation of San Diego’s first five hitters that featured breathtaking velocity with some shaky command — there was no time to rest. After a check for sticky stuff by the umpire, Ohtani didn’t even bother to set foot in the dugout. He shuffled swiftly toward the on-deck circle to gather his protective gear and prepare to hit.
His singular two-way duties have officially resumed.
Ohtani struck out against Dylan Cease after working the count full, the first of five consecutive punch-outs for the Padres’ ace in a bold demonstration of his own spectacular stuff. (Ohtani got his revenge with a couple of RBI knocks against Cease in his next two at-bats.) But Ohtani’s return to pitching in the big leagues was the undisputed headline Monday and served as a refreshing reminder of his unfathomable physical ability on the mound — even if it’s clear he’s still shaking off some rust.
It had been 663 days since Ohtani had appeared on the mound in a major-league game. A second elbow surgery, a $700 million contract, a 50 HR/50 SB season and a World Series title later, he was back pitching, this time as a Los Angeles Dodger. From a pure stuff standpoint, it sure looked like the Ohtani of old. He ran his heater up to a sizzling 100.2 mph and averaged 99.1 mph on his four-seamer. He ripped off 10 sweepers with hellacious horizontal movement and one splitter at 91 mph that tumbled sharply.
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Although he coaxed only three total whiffs from Padres hitters (plus that missed call on the check-swing from Machado), Ohtani’s stuff looked crisp. It was his command that faltered and enabled the Padres to produce a run, which is no huge shock considering his extended layoff and the fact that Ohtani hasn’t ever been a pinpoint command artist anyway. That element of his game will round into form with more reps at the highest level, but it was encouraging to see the raw ferocity of his arsenal firmly intact.
Beyond the elite velocity, the most notable takeaway from Ohtani’s Dodgers pitching debut was his balanced use of two fastballs: nine four-seamers and eight sinkers. Ohtani introduced the sinker back in 2022, and it accounted for roughly 6% of his total pitches in 2023. Rarely have we seen him use both heaters so evenly in an outing. That could merely be the product of the small sample, or it’s possible that Ohtani was so amped to be back that he wasn’t executing either fastball grip especially intentionally.
But if this was a purposeful introduction of a more diverse fastball attack, that’s an intriguing wrinkle to monitor as Ohtani continues to build up his workload and find his footing in the Dodgers’ rotation. — Shusterman
