PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani beamed as he ran his hands through his mop of black hair and strode off the mound to complete his first inning of work. It had been so long since he last pitched in a Cactus League game — three years, in fact — that even the monotony of building up a pitch count in spring training felt like a long time coming.

Since that last Cactus League start, Ohtani has had a second major elbow procedure, switched teams to the Los Angeles Dodgers, won a pair of World Series, captured two MVPs and redefined what’s possible for the game’s most talented player. His 4 1/3 scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday represented a checkpoint: Ohtani seeks to pitch wire-to-wire this season, something he last accomplished in 2022 when he made 28 starts for the Angels.

The Dodgers are counting on him. They will be without Blake Snell and Gavin Stone to start the season, forcing them to dig into their enviable pitching depth. They’re also trusting Ohtani. He spent much of this month with Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic and worked to stretch out as a pitcher despite not throwing a single pitch in the tournament.

“It actually didn’t feel like it was my first spring training outing,” Ohtani said Wednesday through interpreter Will Ireton.

Ohtani returned earlier than expected after Japan’s quarterfinal loss to Venezuela, the eventual champions. It’s hard not to be impressed with how Ohtani looks. In his first real game action of the spring — one of two games he will pitch in before the season starts — the Dodgers hoped he would get through three or four innings. He was so efficient that he came back out to face one more batter in the fifth, finishing his day at 61 pitches.

“I guess I’ve learned that you don’t ever underestimate or try to make predictions on what Shohei’s gonna do,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s always gonna deliver. Yeah, I thought he would be a little bit more rusty than he was today.”

The stuff looked elite. Ohtani’s fastball touched 99.9 mph, and he blew it past hitters whenever he chose to rear back for more. He used his splitter and a curveball that dropped from the sky to record three of his four strikeouts. Ohtani mixed in a slider, sweeper and sinker.

Ohtani’s command eluded him in spurts, as he walked a pair and plunked Luis Matos with a splitter gone awry. He lamented his execution in two-strike counts, especially with the splitter. But all the pieces were there.

“He expects perfection every single time,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “And I think he was very, very close to it today.”

Shohei Ohtani’s first Cactus League start since 2023 was a good one. Went four scoreless, allowed one hit, walked two, hit a guy and struck out four batters. Topped out at 99.9 mph.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 18, 2026

Ohtani showed well last year with a 2.87 ERA (and 1.90 FIP) in 47 innings after returning to the mound in June. He continued into his first October as a pitcher, logging four starts that included a dominant six-inning, 10-strikeout performance to close out the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series. His last time facing major-league hitters in a competition before Wednesday came in Game 7 of the World Series, when Ohtani pitched on short rest for just the second time in his career and exited trailing before the Dodgers rallied for another title.

“This is the first time he’s going to face competition since the World Series,” Roberts said. “I would expect to see an intense performance (and) focus from Shohei.”

Ohtani’s arsenal evolved as he built up his innings totals last summer. Early, he relied essentially on his fastball and slider to dominate his shortened outings. As he neared a typical starter’s workload, he started to mix in the curveball and sinker. In the Brewers outing, his splitter looked the best it’s been since his most recent procedure. The variety of pitches makes for an overwhelming, unpredictable repertoire.

“It’s kind of hard to cover anywhere from 73 to 99 (mph),” Rushing said. “It’s actually almost impossible.”

There appears to be little limiting Ohtani. Each of his first two offseasons and springs as a Dodger included some sort of injury rehab process. Freed from that, Ohtani is looking to add more.

“The previous offseason, just having to go to different facilities, appointments, rehabbing, just felt like every day the day passed by really quick,” Ohtani said. “I just felt like I had a pretty easier offseason mentally.”

He also has a full runway to achieve a goal. No Japanese pitcher has won a Cy Young Award, something Ohtani has brought up more than once this spring.

Getting there will require a full season on the mound. Those 28 starts Ohtani made in 2022 marked a career-high and were the only time he’s topped even 23 starts in a season. The organization appears comfortable with letting him try.

“He’s one of our best pitchers, and for him to have a foundation, being past the surgery, with what he did last year, knowing that he can take down starts in the mid-20s, it just makes us better, and I know that’s what he’s expecting from himself,” Roberts said.

It might be foolish to put limits on Ohtani, who said Wednesday he would be willing to pitch on closer to a pitcher’s normal schedule if needed. There might be room for flexibility. The Dodgers and Ohtani have left the door open that they could give him extra rest to handle his two-way duties, even if it means skipping a start here and there. He threw on at least five days’ rest during the 2025 regular season as he worked his way back. He will have to push himself some to earn Cy Young consideration.

“What I think is more important is to just be flexible, adjustable, and make sure that we’re having the goal in mind rather than the (number of) starts that we need to make,” Ohtani said. “Just because I want to try to win the Cy Young and throw more innings, that’s not necessarily the priority over winning a championship.”