Shohei Ohtani’s Return to the Mound

Shohei Ohtani, the designated hitter for the Dodgers, made his return to pitching on Saturday during a game against the Kansas City Royals, who currently lead the NL West. This outing marked Ohtani’s longest stint on the mound this season, where he allowed just one hit over two innings. Unfortunately, the Dodgers ended up losing to the Royals.

Ohtani’s return comes after a significant elbow surgery he had in 2023. He had a brief start earlier in the season, but this was different—he was really ramping things up.

In fact, one of his pitches was clocked at an impressive 101.7 mph. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed his excitement, noting, “It’s certainly positive that he threw the ball in two innings and threw the ball the way he did. I didn’t know it was 102 mph; I just saw 100, so I wasn’t expecting it.”

When Ohtani stepped into the game as a leadoff batter, the Dodgers faced a 9-5 defeat. Despite not pitching for the Dodgers while recovering from Tommy John surgery last year, he had previously established a solid track record with the Angels, having an impressive 38-19 record with a 3.01 ERA over five seasons.

On this particular day, Ohtani threw first-pitch strikes to all seven batters he encountered, achieving an admirable 20 strikes out of 27 pitches. “I’m happy to have been able to attack the zone,” he said via an interpreter. “There are some small things I still need to work on, but overall, I’m pretty happy.”

His day included a moment where he allowed Bobby Witt Jr. to hit a single but quickly rebounded by walking Maykel Garcia and firing that impressive fastball under pressure. Ohtani remarked, “That’s something I don’t think I can do in a live BP setting. I’m just glad to see how my body reacts.” So far this season, at 30 years old, he has hit 29 home runs as the Dodgers’ primary designated hitter.