After he finally made his Los Angeles Dodgers pitching debut, Shohei Ohtani took the mound once again.
The two-way star made his second pitching start at Dodger Stadium when he faced the Washington Nationals in a 13-7 win on Sunday June 22. The afternoon start came six days after Ohtani pitched for the first time since August 2023, when he was on the Los Angeles Angels.
In his first outing against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani admitted the adrenaline led to him throwing with more velocity than typical. This time, the speed on his pitches was toned down, with his fastball averaging 97.9 mph against Washington, lower than the 99.1 mph earlier in the week.
‘I was able to relax much better compared to my last outing,’ Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.
The sweeper was his most effective pitch against San Diego, and it remained the same against the Nationals. He threw it seven times – the most of his pitches – and five of them were called for strikes, including one swinging strikeout of Luis Garcia Jr. He then used the cutter to get Nathaniel Lowe to strike out swinging as well.
That wasn’t all from Ohtani on the day: He hit a home run and a triple, and recorded five RBI for a signature day for the two-way star. It was the first time since Aug. 23, 2023 that Ohtani pitched and hit a home run in the same game.
Ohtani said it was the plan for him to just pitch one inning, but he is ‘looking forward to adding more innings and more pitches.’
‘I want to see improvement with the quality of the pitches that I’m throwing, and then also increasing the amount of pitches,’ he said. ‘It’s going to be gradual.’
Now, with two innings of work under his belt this season, Ohtani has a 4.50 ERA with two strikeouts and two hits allowed.
Shohei Ohtani pitching highlights
Shohei Ohtani pitching stats
It was a much smoother day for Ohtani than in his season debut. He records two strikeouts and gives up no hits. He threw 18 pitches, 12 of which were strikes. Only one batter got on base after an error from Mookie Betts.
Ohtani pitched only one inning with Ben Casparius coming in relief to start the second.
Shohei Ohtani hits home run
It’s been a great day at the plate and on the mound. After he hit a three-run triple in the seventh inning, Ohtani hits a two-run home run in the eighth inning for his second hit and fifth RBI of the game.
Shohei Ohtani records first Dodger strikeout
Strikeout No. 1 is in the books for Ohtani. He gets Luis Garcia Jr. swinging on a sweeper out of the zone for his first punch out of the season.
The following batter, Nathaniel Lowe, suffered the same fate, swinging on a cutter.
Mookie Betts can’t haul in pop fly
Ohtani looked to have his second out of the inning in quick fashion, but James Wood is on base after Mookie Betts lost the pop fly in the sun.
Shohei Ohtani takes mound
Shohei Ohtani gets the game started.
How long will Shohei Ohtani pitch today?
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said pregame Ohtani will pitch one or two innings.
How to watch Dodgers vs. Nationals
The Nationals and Dodgers finish a three-game series in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.
Date: Sunday, June 22
Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
Local TV: SportsNet LA, MASN
Live stream: Fubo
Location: Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)
Watch Dodgers vs. Nationals on Fubo
Dodgers vs. Nationals pitching matchup
Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (0-0, 9.00 ERA)
Washington Nationals: Michael Soroka (3-5, 5.06 ERA)
Dodgers lineup
Shohei Ohtani, DH/P
Mookie Betts, SS
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Max Muncy, 3B
Andy Pages, RF
Tommy Edman, 2B
Hyeseong Kim, CF
Michael Conforto, LF
Dalton Rushing, C
Nationals lineup
CJ Abrams, SS
James Wood, LF
Luis Garcia Jr., 2B
Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
Josh Bell, DH
Brady House, 3B
Daylen Lile, RF
Keibert Ruiz, C
Jacob Young, CF
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