Shohei Ohtani is starting Game 7 of the 2025 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.
The Dodgers confirmed that their two-way superstar will take the ball hours ahead of the winner-take-all game on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer has already been announced as the starter for Toronto.
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It was a natural move for the Dodgers due to MLB rules. If Ohtani starts a game as a pitcher and then leaves the mound, he can remain in the game as a designated hitter, thanks to the “Ohtani rule” basically designed to maximize his MLB stardom.
If he exits after a relief appearance, however, he either has to take a position in the field or leave the game entirely. This is why many people were speculating that the Dodgers might try him in the outfield this postseason; that’s the only position he has played in his professional career outside of pitcher.
So with L.A.’s starting pitcher decision down to Ohtani or, say, Game 3 starter Tyler Glasnow, there was a massive benefit to going with the likely MVP.
Shohei Ohtani pitching on even normal rest is nearly unprecedented
Ohtani will be pitching on three days’ rest, having thrown six innings and 93 pitches Tuesday in Game 4. That’s short rest by any modern pitching standard and extremely short rest in the case of Ohtani, who has pitched on fewer than five days’ rest only once in his MLB career.
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In that singular case, it was for completely different reasons. One of Ohtani’s starts for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 was rained out after he had thrown only two innings and 31 pitches. The Angels opted to have him make his next start on three days’ rest and were rewarded with an 11-strikeout, two-hit performance in seven scoreless innings.
All three of Ohtani’s starts this postseason have come with at least 10 days’ rest.
This will be the first time Ohtani takes the ball on fewer than five days’ rest after a real start. And he will be making this start against a lineup that tagged him for four earned runs and six hits in Game 4, in front of a Rogers Centre crowd that still hasn’t forgiven him for spurning them in free agency nearly two years ago. The Blue Jays were famously the among the runners-up for his services, and at one point fans had good reason to think they were getting him.
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Of course, Ohtani should not be expected to pitch for long. A Game 7 means all hands on deck, with the Dodgers potentially not letting him go through the order a second time, which would make him closer to an opener than a full starting pitcher.
Game 7 will be all-hands-on-deck behind Shohei Ohtani, Max Scherzer
Glasnow pitched in Game 6 but threw only three pitches. It was by the grace of a bad swing from Ernie Clement and an incredible play/brutal mistake that led to a double play, but it leaves Glasnow fairly rested and likely to be called on for multiple innings behind Ohtani in Game 7. He confirmed he would be available while speaking with reporters Friday night.
Beyond Glasnow, the Dodgers will have … everybody save for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw six innings and 96 pitches in Game 6. Even so, Yamamoto said he would be ready to pitch if asked, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shot that down minutes later while adding that everyone else would be available.
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Games 1 and 5 starter Blake Snell could enter the game on two days’ rest. It seems likely the Dodgers will call on Roki Sasaki, despite a shaky Game 6 performance. Any other member of the Dodgers’ much-maligned bullpen could be possible, from Game 3 hero Will Klein to outgoing legend Clayton Kershaw in the final game of his Hall of Fame career, but the Dodgers will likely prefer the members of their elite rotation — plus Sasaki and maybe Emmet Sheehan, who both began the season as starting pitchers — cover the entire game if possible.
As for the Blue Jays, it feels like a given that Game 4 starter Shane Bieber will fill the Glasnow role behind Scherzer, asked to throw multiple innings after however long his fellow Cy Young winner lasts. And then it’ll be up to the entire Toronto bullpen to hold things down.