It was only his third time back on the mound in a big-league game since he recovered from Tommy John surgery, but there was a lot to like about the way that Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani threw the ball on Saturday in a loss to the Royals. Ohtani stretched to 2.0 innings for the first time after two other one-inning appearances, and allowed one hit with a strikeout, and no runs.
He has now let up one run in 4.0 innings pitched, for a 2.25 ERA on the season, with three strikeouts and a walk. And while the ramp-up period for Ohtani will be a long one, he showed something in his third start that should have Dodgers fans more than a little excited: velocity.
Ohtani topped out on the radar gun with a fastball that went 101.7 mph, which is not only the hardest he has throw this season, it’s the hardest he has thrown in his MLB career.
After the game, Ohtani reacted to the outing, and told reporters, “It’s something I don’t think I would be able to do in a live BP setting. So it’s nice to be able to hit this velo and see how my body reacts.”
Dodgers Slow-Rolling Shohei Ohtani Pitching
No doubt, Dodgers faithful everywhere are champing at the bit in hopes of getting Ohtani back as a full-time rotation member. He did not pitch last season, of course, but in his career, he holds a 38-19 record with a 3.00 ERA.
At the same time, Ohtani was the MVP of the National League last season and is a very heavy favorite to be MVP again this season. He is hitting .287 and leads the league with 29 home runs, and a 1.021 OPS. The Dodgers would love to see him on the mound, and will give him every opportunity to do so, but the team also does not want to interfere with what he is doing at the plate.
Manager Dave Roberts discussed the plan to get Ohtani “fully built-up” this weekend–which is to say, he’s still playing it by ear.
“I think we’re always gonna be cautious,” Roberts said. “So I don’t even know what that’s going to look like, to be ‘fully built-up.’ I don’t think anyone knows what that looks like. Because it’s not a normal starting pitcher. So to say six (innings) and 90 (pitches), I don’t even know if we’ll get to that point.”
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