If you turned off the TV after Will Smith‘s dramatic homer on Wednesday night, you missed some big news. Shohei Ohtani is officially slated to make his second pitching start of the season on Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed following Wednesday’s walk-off win against the Padres.
“Shohei Ohtani is going to pitch on Sunday,” Roberts said in his postgame media session. “That’s kind of how we’re going to do it.”
Ohtani’s return to pitching came Monday night, marking his first appearance on the mound since 2023 and his debut as a pitcher in Dodger Blue. While the box score reflected just one inning, two hits, and one earned run with no strikeouts, the performance carried far more weight than numbers could convey. It was Ohtani’s first Major League outing since undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time, and the moment was as emotional as it was electric.
From the very first pitch—a 99.1 mph fastball to Fernando Tatis Jr.—Ohtani made it clear he wasn’t easing his way back. He consistently sat in the 98–100 mph range throughout the inning and mixed in his signature off-speed weapons, including a sweeping breaking ball and a mid-90s splitter.
“Result-wise, I can’t say it was a great outing,” Ohtani said after Monday’s game. “But just being able to finish the inning and feel like I can pitch again next time—that’s a big first step forward.”
The inning featured some bad luck—a bloop single by Tatis, a missed check-swing call on Manny Machado, and a well-placed RBI single by Luis Arraez—but also flashes of the dominant stuff that made Ohtani a Cy Young contender prior to the surgery. While he didn’t register a strikeout, each of the first four hitters reached two strikes in the count, a sign that the putaway pitches could return with repetition and rhythm.
Ohtani acknowledged that the nerves were real: “Yeah, I was more nervous than I am when I’m hitting,” he admitted with a smile. “I was aiming to throw around 95 or 96, but once you’re on the mound in a real game, the intensity just lifts you up. That’s probably why the velocity ticked up.”
The Sunday start makes the most sense. With a day off built into the schedule on Monday, and the next three games in high-altitude Denver, Colorado, the Sunday start accomplishes two goals: giving Shohei a chance to recover without him in the lineup (he went 0-for-4 in Tuesday’s game), and it allows him to avoid the sometimes dicey proposition of pitching in Coors Field. Plus, it gives Dodger fans another chance to watch their unicorn on the mound before he takes off on the road. Sounds like win-win-win to me.
The plan now is to gradually build Ohtani’s workload with weekly starts. “Hopefully, if I can keep going a little longer each time, it’ll help reduce the burden on the bullpen,” Ohtani said, noting that Monday night’s 28-pitch effort was his first close-to-100% outing since surgery.
Sunday’s start is expected to follow that same structure—limited innings, high intensity, and another step forward in what the Dodgers hope will be a successful two-way return. With Ohtani already contributing offensively—he drove in two runs as a DH on Monday—the gradual reintroduction of his pitching only deepens an already elite roster.
Roberts also emphasized the broader context of Ohtani’s return: “You look at the growth of two young pitchers [Sheehan and Wrobleski], and then Shohei coming back, it’s been a big week for our pitching staff.”
Ohtani, for his part, seemed most focused on gratitude. “Tonight wasn’t just about the result,” he said Monday. “I wanted to show my appreciation by being out there again.”
With Sunday’s scheduled start, that journey continues—one pitch, and one inning, at a time.
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