Shohei Ohtani's long-awaited return to the mound lasted just one inning.
Making his first start since elbow surgery in September 2023, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar gave up one run on two hits while throwing 28 pitches (16 strikes) Monday against the San Diego Padres. Ohtani didn't record a strikeout or issue a walk, but he did throw a wild pitch that helped set up San Diego's first run.
Ohtani was only expected to serve as Los Angeles' opener.
The right-hander started his night with a 98-mph sinker, one of eight he threw during the outing. He also mixed in 10 sweepers, nine fastballs, and one splitter. Ohtani topped out the radar gun with a 100.2-mph fastball to Luis Arraez, which tied the second-fastest pitch thrown by a Dodger this season, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Once he gets a feel for pitching in games again, it’s so over for the league.
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) June 17, 2025
Shohei Ohtani’s stuff hasn’t missed a beat! pic.twitter.com/P3MlnTKH4A
Ohtani allowed a leadoff single to Fernando Tatis Jr., who advanced to second on the wild pitch and moved to third on Arraez's single. Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly to score Tatis, who barely beat Will Smith's tag to break the ice. Ohtani got out of the inning by inducing groundouts from Gavin Sheets and Xander Bogaerts.
(Video source: MLB.com)
The three-time MVP yielded the mound to reliever Anthony Banda in the top of the second but stayed in the game as the Dodgers' designated hitter. He struck out in his first at-bat against Padres starter Dylan Cease to lead off the bottom of the first.
The start marked Ohtani's first pitching appearance since Aug. 23, 2023, when he was still with the Los Angeles Angels. The 30-year-old decided to make what amounted to a rehab start in a major-league game as he continues to build up for a return to regular rotation duties.
Ohtani entered Monday's start sporting a lifetime 38-19 record with a 3.01 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3.31 FIP, 608 strikeouts, and one shutout over 86 big-league pitching appearances, all with the Angels. His best season on the mound came in 2022, when he put up a 2.33 ERA with 219 strikeouts to finish fourth in AL Cy Young voting.
