Shohei Ohtani pitched one inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 6–3 win over the Padres — a moment that felt epic for baseball fans who hadn’t seen the Japanese star face live batters in quite some time. Even Ohtani himself was surprised by what he delivered from the mound.
Though it was just one inning, Ohtani was electric with the Dodgers. He gave up a pair of hits and one run, but the real story was his velocity — which exceeded even his own expectations across his 28 pitches against San Diego.
“Shohei Ohtani said he planned to sit 95–96 mph tonight. Excitement of the moment pushed it higher (he averaged 99.1 mph on 9 four-seam fastballs and topped out at 100.2 mph),” reported Bill Plunkett on X.
When will Ohtani pitch again for the Dodgers?
According to Ohtani, the current plan is to pitch once a week. “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 so that the bullpen won’t be so taxed,” he said.
Manager Dave Roberts appears to be on board with the same approach. “You’re talking six or seven, eight days, something like that,” Roberts told reporters. He stopped short of committing to a date for Ohtani’s next outing, saying, “We’ll see how he is and whether it’s another one inning the next time, or two innings — I don’t know that yet, but it’s kind of a read-and-react situation.”
When was Ohtani’s last appearance as a pitcher?
Prior to this return, Ohtani hadn’t pitched since the 2023 MLB season — back when he was still with the Angels. His final outing came against the Reds, when he threw 1.1 innings without allowing a hit or a run in a 9–4 loss.
