Shohei Ohtani Named Dodgers' Starting Pitcher for Series Finale vs. Nationals

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Wednesday night that Shohei Ohtani will make his second pitching start of the season on Sunday against the Washington Nationals.

Ohtani pitched for the first time since the 2023 season on Monday, giving up a run and two hits in one inning of work. He added a pair of RBIs at the plate in the 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres.

Ohtani had Tommy John surgery after the 2023 season and didn't pitch for the Dodgers in his debut season with the team, though he still made the perfect first impression. He won the NL MVP after leading all of baseball in runs (134), leading the National League in homers (54), RBI (130), WAR (9.2) and OPS (1.036) and becoming the first player in MLB history to join the 50-50 homer-steal club after swiping 59 bags.

Oh, the Dodgers won a World Series title, too.

Ohtani might be the best player in baseball as a hitter alone at this point, but his return to the mound restores him as arguably the most uniquely impactful player the sport has seen since Babe Ruth. Ohtani's accomplishments as a pitcher—he's 38-19 in 87 career starts with a 3.02 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 608 strikeouts in 482.2 innings—are wildly impressive as well.

Not that he was thrilled with his return to the mound on Monday.

"Not quite happy with the results overall," he told reporters through translator Will Ireton. "But I think the biggest takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next outing."

Roberts was a bit more generous in his analysis.

"I thought it was great," he said. "Obviously gave up a run, but I thought the stuff was really good."

Ohtani and Roberts confirmed after the game that the plan going forward would be for the two-way star to pitch once a week, and he could be stretched to two innings in his upcoming start on Sunday after being capped at a 30-pitch limit on Monday.

"I want to see first where my body feels and how it reacts," Ohtani told reporters. "But 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."

For a Los Angeles team that has yet again been rocked by injuries to the pitching staff, it's a positive development.