LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound continues to build momentum. In his second start of the 2025 season, the two-way superstar showed improved command and strikeout stuff during a quick yet encouraging inning of work against the Washington Nationals on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani faced four batters, recording two strikeouts and allowing no earned runs, though he was denied a clean 1-2-3 inning by a fielding error. Still, the outing provided another step forward in his methodical return to pitching form—and another glimpse of why the Dodgers are so high on his two-way impact.
The game began with Ohtani attacking Nationals leadoff hitter CJ Abrams. On the first pitch of the afternoon, Ohtani fired a 97.2 mph four-seam fastball that Abrams grounded sharply to the right side. Freddie Freeman fielded it cleanly and flipped it to Ohtani, who sprinted to the bag to record the out.
Next up was James Wood (who has a habit of obliterating baseballs), and Ohtani jumped ahead with back-to-back sweepers for called strikes. After mixing in a splitter and another sweeper to even the count at 2-2, Wood hit a routine popup on an 82 mph sweeper. But what should’ve been the second out fell for an error when shortstop Mookie Betts lost the ball in the midday sun.
Ohtani didn’t let the miscue rattle him.
With a runner on first, he bore down against Luis García Jr., mixing speeds and locations. He started García with a sweeper for a foul, then alternated cutters and fastballs, including a blazing 98 mph heater. On the fifth pitch, Ohtani got García swinging through a sharp 85.9 mph sweeper in the dirt for his first strikeout of the day.
He saved his best for last.
Against Nathaniel Lowe, Ohtani pumped three fastballs between 97 and 98.8 mph, showcasing elite velocity. After a couple of foul balls and a splitter for ball two, he unleashed another sweeping breaking ball that Lowe couldn’t touch, locking up his second strikeout of the inning.
The inning ended with Ohtani having thrown 20 pitches—13 for strikes—and allowing just the unearned baserunner.
While the final line won’t jump off the page, the underlying numbers and visual cues made it clear: Ohtani’s stuff is coming back. His four-seamer had zip. His sweeper generated whiffs. And perhaps most importantly, he handled the adversity of the error with poise.
Earlier in the day, manager Dave Roberts noted that he expected the outing to feel “a lot more normal” than Ohtani’s first appearance, which was filled with fanfare and nerves. That’s exactly what the Dodgers got: a controlled, confident inning with flashes of dominance.
As Ohtani continues his cautious ramp-up on the mound, Sunday’s effort was another important checkpoint. Not only did he pass it—he made it look easy.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
