PHOENIX \u2014 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 \u2014 three years, in fact \u2014 that even the monotony of building up a pitch count in spring training felt like a long time coming.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s possible for the game\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt actually didn\u2019t feel like it was my first spring training outing,\u201d Ohtani said Wednesday through interpreter Will Ireton.<\/p>\n
Ohtani returned earlier than expected after Japan\u2019s quarterfinal loss to Venezuela, the eventual champions. It\u2019s hard not to be impressed with how Ohtani looks. In his first real game action of the spring \u2014 one of two games he will pitch in before the season starts \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess I\u2019ve learned that you don\u2019t ever underestimate or try to make predictions on what Shohei\u2019s gonna do,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cHe\u2019s always gonna deliver. Yeah, I thought he would be a little bit more rusty than he was today.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stuff looked elite. Ohtani\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Ohtani\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe expects perfection every single time,\u201d catcher Dalton Rushing said. \u201cAnd I think he was very, very close to it today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n