Shohei Ohtani resumed two-way duties and regained elite velocity and a devastating sweeper after a second Tommy John surgery. He produced a 2.37 ERA across his first eight starts, allowing five runs in 16 innings with 25 strikeouts and five walks. Team staff limited him to progressive, short outings—one to four innings—so he rarely faced lineups twice and essentially operated as an opener. As the workload increased toward conventional five-inning starts, he struggled to complete the fifth inning in two attempts, exposing tactical rust that required refinement. Management expected continued improvement and longer outings.
Coming off his second career Tommy John surgery this year, Ohtani immediately lit up the radar gun with 100-mph fastballs and amassed gaudy strikeout totals with a devastating sweeper. In his first eight pitching starts of the season, he gave up just five runs in 16 innings for a 2.37 ERA, racked up 25 punchouts against just five walks, and looked every bit of the hard-throwing ace he was before spending a year-and-a-half rehabbing his right elbow and only serving as a designated hitter.
But, during that time, Ohtani was also throwing in only short bursts, as part of a deliberate effort to slowly build him up. He tossed one inning in his first two starts. Two innings, then three, then four, in each pair of outings after that. Rarely did he face a lineup two times through. At no point did he see the same batter three times in the same game.
For all of Ohtani's talent, it was clear there was tactical rust that still needed to be cleared. "I think we're still in the [process of] finding out who he is, what he is, getting his bearings for him," manager Dave Roberts acknowledged ahead of Wednesday's game. "But," the skipper added, "I'm expecting him to get through five [tonight], pitch well and just continue to get better."
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