In his preseason debut on the mound, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani showed his excellent form, allowing only one hit, two walks, and one hit, while striking out four batters in 4⅓ scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants. Ohtani, who hadn’t had much activity on the mound in the last two and a half years, reached his best level with the fastball, registering a speed of 99 mph that left Willy Adames with no chance for his first strikeout of the afternoon. The Japanese star, known for his versatility, made 61 pitches, of which 34 were strikes.
The material was really good. It will be more consistent as he goes out and pitches regularly. But, man, it was really good. He knows he only has a couple of outings before the start of the season, so he was locked in. For him to get to the fifth inning was a big win for us.
Dave Roberts, Dodgers Manager
Ohtani held some live batting practice sessions in Arizona with the Dodgers before joining the Japan team for the World Baseball Classic in early March. Although he didn’t pitch in the tournament, he did hold bullpen sessions. This was his first appearance on the mound in a competitive environment since Game 7 of the World Series on November 1st. Roberts expects Ohtani to make another spring training start next week before the start of the regular season on March 26. Ohtani is expected to complete his first full season on the mound since 2022, when he had a 15-9 record with a 2.33 ERA in 28 starts for the Los Angeles Angels. He suffered an elbow injury at the end of the 2023 season, which prevented him from pitching in 2024. Ohtani returned to the mound in mid-2025 and had an ERA of 2.87 in 14 regular season starts. He also went 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in the postseason, helping the Dodgers win their second consecutive World Series title. On Wednesday, the 31-year-old player did not bat, opting to focus on pitching, especially on such a hot day. Roberts expects Ohtani to be the team’s designated hitter on Friday against the San Diego Padres.I’m pretty happy with today’s pitch count. For the next outing, I want to improve on execution with two-strike counts. I just didn’t finish off batters as much as I wanted.
Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani recently returned to the Dodgers’ camp at Camelback Ranch after Japan was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. He had a batting average of 6-13 with three home runs for Japan in five games.He’s had enough at-bats, so I don’t think at-bats are a concern.
Dave Roberts
