Shohei Ohtani pitched for the first time in a Dodger uniform and took another major step in his recovery from his second surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament that he underwent in 2023.
The Dodgers’ superstar pitched just one inning — which had been widely expected — and gave up one run on two hits while throwing 28 pitches.
During the brief appearance, Ohtani turned to his fastball 32.1 percent of the time and hit a maximum velocity of 100.2 mph.
Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to right field in a six-pitch at-bat as Ohtani faced his first batter in a real game since Aug. 23, 2023.
The second hit against Ohtani came on the next at-bat with Luis Arraez at the plate.
The decision to get Ohtani back on the mound on Monday stunned just about everyone, including Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, who told USA TODAY that he “had no idea that today” was when the two-way player was going to return to the mound.
Manager Dave Roberts hinted on Sunday night that Ohtani could be back on the mound in the near future, and then the Dodgers made the stunning announcement later that same evening that the baseball superstar would start against the rival Padres.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told reporters on Monday that after seeing how he pitched in his simulated games, it was time to get him back on the mound.
“It got to the point where, hey, it feels like we should take that next step and almost look to finish the rehab at the major league level,” Gomes said. “There is no playbook for this, so it has to be an ongoing conversation.”
Roberts added that Ohtani had indicated that he was ready to move to the next phase of his rehab and had done all he could do in simulated games.
“It’s more like, ‘Well, I don’t think there’s anything else to do. I’m ready to go. What else do I need to do to get on a major league mound?’” Roberts said.
While Ohtani hasn’t pitched since 2023, he has still been a dominant hitter at the plate.
Ohtani has hit .297 this season with 25 home runs and 41 RBIs.