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MLB: Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Pitches In A Game For The First Time In Two Years

It is his first start as a pitcher since August 23rd, 2023.

Written by Matthew Gideon
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MLB: Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Pitches In A Game For The First Time In Two Years

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani made his return to the pitching mound yesterday for the first time since August 23rd, 2023, as the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 6-3. In just one inning, he threw 28 pitches, allowing two hits and one earned run on a sacrifice fly.

“Not quite happy with the results overall,” Ohtani said after the game through an interpreter. “But I think the biggest takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next out.”

Ohtani admitted that he was a little nervous before taking the mound in the first inning of the game. “Definitely a little bit more than when I was solely a position player,” he said.

Amazingly, Ohtani appeared to still have the same juice that he had back in 2023. His fastest pitch hit a maximum speed of 100.2 miles per hour.

“I was aiming to sit [at] 95, 96, but the game’s intensity really just allowed me to throw a little harder,” Ohtani said. “I was able to adjust back to be able to throw 95, 96 against (Xander) Bogaerts in the last at-bat.”

“I was just kind of hoping for a more tempered 97, 96 than 100,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts in a postgame interview. “But when you’re a competitor, you’re just trying to get guys out. And if you have 100 in the tank, you’re going to use it. And that’s what he does.”

Ohtani also made his presence felt as a batter. In four plate appearances, he recorded a walk, two hits, and two RBIs.

“We always understood how hard it was to pitch and then come in and hit, but seeing him come off the mound and not even go into the dugout,” said Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy after the win. “It kind of hit a little different seeing it from our side now, being like, ‘Man, that’s incredible what he’s able to do.’ He threw 25, 30 pitches in the first inning and then didn’t even get a drink of water. Just put his helmet on [and] went right to the batter’s box. That’s really hard to do.”

“It was just really interesting to see him come straight from the mound to the on-deck circle… To see him come into the dugout from the pen, all that stuff,” explained Dave Roberts. “I was kind of fanboying for like a half an inning.”

Though Ohtani was disappointed with his performance, it sounds like he wants to make pitching a weekly habit.

“That’s my expectation,” he said. “But I did hit 100 today, so I want to see first where my body feels and how it reacts. But the expectation is for me to go once a week. Hopefully to be able to go a little longer every time I’m out there, so the bullpen won’t be so taxed.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers will once again be at home playing the San Diego Padres. The first pitch in that game is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. EDT tonight.

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