LOS ANGELES — One of the biggest knocks Los Angeles Dodgers fans get is how relatively empty Dodger Stadium looks at first pitch. It makes sense, as dealing with rush hour traffic in L.A. just to get up Chavez Ravine is not for the faint of heart.
But on the evening of Monday, June 16, not even bumper-to-bumper traffic was going to stop the majority of the crowd from being in their seats at 7:10 p.m. local time. It was an occasion they’d been waiting on for more than 18 months:
Before the national anthem was played, the stadium was filled and the crowd was roaring as Ohtani emerged from the dugout and walked to the bullpen to warm-up for his first start of the season. As he got loose, crowds flooded the left field area just to get a peak of what they’d been eagerly anticipating. From the section that shares a wall with the pen to the top of the reserve level, fans hugged the railing like they’re trying to get a high five from a WWE star.
All the focus was on how Ohtani would do on the mound. By the end of night, it was the bat that reminded everyone what makes him a unicorn of a baseball player, and the possibilities in 2025.
After one inning of work on the mound, Ohtani had two hits and two RBIs as the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 6-3, in what was a major step in the three-time MVP’s full-time return to being a two-way star.
‘Not quite happy with the results overall,’ Ohtani said through translator Will Ireton. ‘But I think the biggest takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next outing.’
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In a span of less than 24 hours, the matchup went from the series opener between division rivals and World Series contenders to all attention on Ohtani as a major league pitcher. It was his first time pitching since August 2023 – when he wore a Los Angeles Angels uniform – and first time since his second Tommy John surgery.
It was a soft introduction back to the mound for the right-hander. But it was a bumpy road.
Ohtani’s first pitch was a 97 mph sinker Fernando Tatis Jr. fouled off. But he gave up a bloop single to the leadoff hitter and Luis Arraez hit a rocket in the gap to put runners on the corners with no outs, with the chance to massively spoil Ohtani’s night.
On the following at-bat, Manny Machado swung out of the zone on a sweeper, resulting in a sacrifice fly to score a run for San Diego. Then two consecutive groundouts got Ohtani out of the inning and limited the damage.
He threw 28 pitches – 16 for strikes – and despite a 9.00 ERA, it was a positive outing for the team.
‘I thought it was great,’ said manager Dave Roberts. ‘Obviously gave up a run, but I thought the stuff was really good.’
It’s now the norm for it to be a playoff atmosphere when the Padres and Dodgers meet, but you’d think a trip to the World Series was on the line with the intensity and electricity in the air in the first inning. And Ohtani certainly felt it.
In his rehab work, Ohtani was throwing around the 95-96 mph range. In his first game, his fastball averaged 99.1 mph, and he reached 100 mph. The sinker hovered around 97 mph with 18 of his pitches at least 95 mph, and 14 above 98 mph.
‘I was aiming to sit 95-96 (mph), but the game intensity really allowed me to throw a little harder,’ Ohtani said.
Roberts didn’t expect to see triple digits on the radar gun, but he understood the adrenaline allowed Ohtani to turn it up a notch. Still, Roberts hopes he can turn it down a bit so he doesn’t overexert himself and undo all the progress.
Everyone in the dugout marveled at Ohtani coming off from throwing 28 pitches and going straight to putting on his batting gear, not even stopping for a drink of water. Third baseman Max Muncy admitted it hit differently to see it happen because ‘that’s really hard to do.’
Ohtani struck out in his first at-bat, but he delivered in the batter’s box not long after. He hit an RBI double in the bottom of the third through the left-center field gap to get back the run he gave up, and one inning later, his RBI single extended the lead for Los Angeles.
He finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a walk and two strikeouts, and Roberts felt good about it, indicating he could still produce at the plate on start days. Granted it was after he pitched one inning and hyped on adrenaline, but it ‘didn’t certainly affect the offensive performance,’ Roberts said.
Shohei Ohtani’s pitching plan
Now with his first outing complete, Ohtani and Roberts both said the current plan is for him to pitch once a week. It’s expected he will continue to start games every six to eight days, Roberts added, and the workload could go up. The Dodgers skipper wasn’t going to let him throw more than 30 pitches in his debut, but he could go two innings his next time out, likely against the Washington Nationals on June 22.
Still, no plan is set in stone. General manager Brandon Gomes said prior the contest that conversations are happening every day to feel out what is the next step. Ohtani noted since his velocity was higher than normal, he’ll have to see how he feels when he wakes up before nailing down his next start.
‘I want to see first where my body feels and how it reacts,’ he said. ‘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.’
It was only a glimpse, but it was enough for the Dodgers to feel good about where Ohtani is progressing, considering how his debut came together so quickly. Roberts admitted he was ‘fanboying’ seeing it finally happen.
With more encouraging nights like this, Ohtani could be headed back to being dominant at the plate and on the mound, a recipe the organization anticipates can lead to another title.
‘Overall, just a really positive day for us,’ Roberts said. ‘We’re just kind of excited that we finally got that first one under our belt.’
(This story was updated to change a video.)