Dodgers News: Shohei Ohtani Announced as Game One Starter vs Phillies
NLDS Game One Starter: Shohei Ohtani
LOS ANGELES, CA—The Los Angeles Dodgers got off to the 2025 postseason in sweeping fashion, taking both Games One and Two against the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card round.
Next stop: Philadelphia
For the 13th consecutive season, the Dodgers will be playing in the best-of-five National League Division Series; however, unlike last season, they’ll kick off the action on the road as they head to Citizens Bank Park in a match-up with the number two seed in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies.
After the game and during last night’s celebrations, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that two-way superstar and likely 2025 National League MVP will be making his postseason pitching debut and start Game One of the NLDS on Saturday.
Had the Dodgers not swept the Reds, it’s presumed Ohtani would have started in a decisive Game 3 at Dodger Stadium. However, the team never fully committed to this plan.
“If there’s a Game 3, he’ll probably start Game 3,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani earlier this week.
Some indications suggested Ohtani might start Game 1 against the Reds, as he had been pitching on Tuesdays since September 16th. However, the Dodgers ultimately chose to have him focus on his duties as the designated hitter.
“I think that the workload, it’s the proper rest for Snell, Yamamoto. And obviously, we don’t know what’s going to happen with a Game 3,” Roberts explained. “But also, there’s an off day after that. So just thinking through everything.”
That plan ended up going the Dodgers’ way with lefty Blake Snell tossing seven masterful frames in Los Angeles Game One win, followed by another gutsy performance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game Two.
Ohtani missed all of last season on the mound after recovering from his second career Tommy John surgery, which led the Dodgers to an unusual rehab process this season.
Overall, in his first season back on the mound for Los Angeles, Ohtani went 1-1, with a 2.87 ERA, 1.04 WHIP across fourteen starts this season, with the latest being six full innings.
If you recall, Ohtani also pitched against the Phillies this season at Dodger Stadium in September, an outing in which he tossed five no-hit innings before the Dodgers’ bullpen blew the game.
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