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Shohei Ohtani pitches first game in nearly two years

USAT’s Jordan Mendoza shares what the atmosphere was like at Dodger Stadium as Shohei Ohtani took the mound for the first time since August 2023.

Sports Pulse

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 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.

Ohtani 2025 pitching debut was a little bumpy, but it was much smoother sailing the second time around. He still only pitched one inning, but he didn’t give up a hit and recorded back-to-back strikeouts, his first two as a Dodger.

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.

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.

Now, with two innings of work under his belt this season, Ohtani has a 4.50 ERA with two strikeouts and two hits allowed.

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.

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.

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 gets the game started.

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 22Time: 4:10 p.m. ETLocal TV: SportsNet LA, MASNLive stream: FuboLocation: Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)

Watch Dodgers vs. Nationals on Fubo

Dodgers vs. Nationals pitching matchupLos Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (0-0, 9.00 ERA)Washington Nationals: Michael Soroka (3-5, 5.06 ERA)Dodgers lineupShohei Ohtani, DH/PMookie Betts, SSFreddie Freeman, 1BMax Muncy, 3BAndy Pages, RFTommy Edman, 2BHyeseong Kim, CFMichael Conforto, LFDalton Rushing, CNationals lineupCJ Abrams, SSJames Wood, LFLuis Garcia Jr., 2BNathaniel Lowe, 1BJosh Bell, DHBrady House, 3BDaylen Lile, RFKeibert Ruiz, CJacob Young, CF