Shohei Ohtani faces hitters as highway to Dodgers’ rotation shortens

Shohei Ohtani’s return to recreation motion as a pitcher took one other step ahead Sunday when he confronted stay hitters for the primary time since his 2023 Tommy John revision surgical procedure on his proper elbow.

Ohtani’s pitching session, earlier than Sunday’s highway recreation towards the New York Mets, got here towards rookies Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing, in addition to crew planning coach J.T. Watkins, who stood in because the third hitter.

According to studies out of New York, Ohtani had a pair of strikeouts and a stroll. Kim doubled and grounded again to the mound.

Ohtani has not pitched in a significant league recreation since Aug. 23, 2023, for the Los Angeles Angels when he lasted simply 1 1/3 innings towards the Cincinnati Reds. He additionally missed the 2019 season as a pitcher for the Angels after he underwent his unique Tommy John surgical procedure.

In 86 profession main league begins, Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA. His hitting and pitching exploits helped him to earn American League MVP Awards with the Angels in 2021 and 2023. He received the National League MVP for the Dodgers final season as a delegated hitter solely when he hit 54 dwelling runs with 59 stolen bases.

Originally estimated to be again on the mound this month, the Dodgers slowed down Ohtani’s rehab schedule, with crew president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman lately saying, the objective was to have Ohtani pitching by means of October.

The restoration schedule may have Ohtani pitching once more across the All-Star break.

–Field Level Media