The Los Angeles Dodgers got a huge welcome sign this week when superstar Shohei Ohtani toed the rubber for the first time in nearly two years, and for his anticipated Dodgers pitching debut. It came against the San Diego Padres, and Ohtani threw just an inning, but his progression will certainly be monitored.
In that one inning, he gave up one earned run on two hits and did not strike out any Padres hitters.
According to Dodgers reporter Fabian Ardaya, it has since been revealed by skipper Dave Roberts that Ohtani will record his next pitching outing on Sunday against the Washington Nationals. Assuming it will be a start, that will mark Ohtani’s second start in his career with his new Los Angeles club.
Taking a Look at Ohtani’s First Outing
Ohtani is so unique in the sense that after a two-year hiatus from the mound and a long rehab stint, he did not need to pitch in the minors. He decided that he wanted to show the baseball world that he was ready to tap into the full extent of his true potential. Ohtani came out firing immediately, with his fastball reaching near 100 MPH, and working a couple of really good sliders and splitters.
And even though he gave up a single run, which is not bad by any means, he was able to expunge his only blemish by eventually driving in two runs with the bat to help the Los Angeles Dodgers win that game over the San Diego Padres.
What to Watch for in Next Start
The Washington Nationals are reeling badly at the moment. They are losers of their last 11 games, tied for the longest losing streak in MLB this season. It will be interesting to see if Ohtani is maybe stretched out longer this go around due to a much weaker lineup. The Los Angeles Dodgers are, of course, going to be very careful with their most prized possession, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Shohei throw a couple more innings and see how he feels with a slightly higher pitch count.
The real bright side for Los Angeles is that they are starting to get more positive news on the starting pitching front. After Wednesday’s game against the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers led MLB with the most starting pitchers used this season (17). Getting Ohtani back certainly helps drastically, and even Emmet Sheehan turned in a nice start during his first game back from Tommy John.
Southpaw Blake Snell was supposed to return at some point this week, but that return date will likely be pushed back.
The Dodgers are in the midst of a four-game set with the Padres, and they’ve taken the first three games in the series. At the start of the series, Los Angeles was tied for first place in the National League West, but now leads the division by 4.5 games.
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Next Start Date Revealed