Shohei Ohtani is back on the mound, and the Dodgers are monitoring his return to two-way play

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to pitch Sunday in his second start since resuming his two-way career, and the Los Angeles Dodgers will be closely watching the progress of their superstar.

Ohtani will start on the mound and bat leadoff against the Washington Nationals at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers are heading into Ohtani’s second start unsure whether he will throw one or two innings, but manager Dave Roberts expects to see another step in the three-time MVP’s lengthy road back to the mound.

“Today, I think there will be a lot more normalcy,” Roberts said. “Excited to see him throw the baseball. Expect him to be a lot more efficient, better pitch-making, but we’ll see.”

Ohtani yielded two hits and a run while throwing 28 pitches in the first inning Monday against San Diego in his first mound outing since 2023. Ohtani’s movement on his breaking pitches was sharp, and his fastball hit 100 mph, but his command was “just OK,” Roberts said.

Roberts said there’s no firm timeline for Ohtani to extend his starts to full length. The Dodgers also have made no long-term decisions about how they will handle the day-to-day details of the dual pursuits of baseball’s only serious two-way player in several decades.

Roberts acknowledged that Ohtani could move out of his customary leadoff spot in the Dodgers’ lineup on the days when he pitches, particularly at home. While Ohtani has told Roberts he isn’t bothered by pitching the first inning and then going straight to the on-deck circle to be the Dodgers’ first batter in the bottom half, Roberts recognizes it’s not ideal.

“He’s said that he’s completely fine with hitting leadoff (and) doesn’t want to change,” Roberts said. “So I think that for now, we’ll stay status quo, but coming out of this one, you could say maybe it might make more sense to hit second or third or fourth.”

Ohtani went just 4 for 23 with 11 strikeouts at the plate in the Dodgers’ last six games, and that includes his two-hit performance last Monday during his mound return. He has homered in just one of his past 18 games, although he still entered Sunday tied for third in the majors with 25 homers.

The Dodgers will be patient with Ohtani as he readjusts to two-way life while managing the demands of both jobs.

“I have not seen signs of fatigue,” Roberts said. “I think that like all hitters, when you start chasing outside the strike zone, it’s hard to have consistent success. I don’t think that’s a fatigue thing, but we’ll manage it, and I think that I can only take him at his word, and the swing speed and stuff you track is still in line. Again, once we ramp up more, it might be a different conversation.”

Ohtani didn’t pitch at all last season while recovering from arm surgery during his first season with the Dodgers under a 10-year, $700 million contract. He won his third MVP award while becoming the first player in baseball history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season, and the Dodgers won his first World Series championship.

Ohtani entered Sunday third in the majors with a .996 OPS, but some of his other offensive numbers have gone down slightly this season while he returned to a steady throwing program.

The Dodgers have no public concerns about Ohtani’s production, remaining supportive of his two-way play — and they need his arm, given their season-long injury woes on the mound.

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