The reigning MVP made his pitching debut for the Dodgers in 2025, and had a solid campaign in his return to the mound. He made 14 starts for LA last year, posting a 2.87 ERA through 47 innings pitched. He recorded 62 strikeouts in that time, working his way up to six innings pitched by the end of the season.<\/p>\n
As a pitcher, Ohtani has an even 3.00 ERA through 528 innings pitched in his career, and has a fourth-place Cy Young finish under his belt. The Dodgers will hope he can settle in early in the season and show how dominant he can be as a pitcher.<\/p>\n
![\"Mar](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Shohei-Ohtani-Pitching-Dodgers-1.jpg\")
Mar 24, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesHow has Shohei Ohtani Performed So Far in 2026?<\/p>\n
Through the first four games of the season, Ohtani has struggled to produce results at the plate. He has just two hits through 12 at-bats in his four games, but has scored two runs and walked twice.<\/p>\n
Despite his slow start, manager Dave Roberts believes he\u2014along with struggling teammates Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker\u2014will get back on the right track soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am surprised that they got off to a slow start, but you just never really know,\u201d\u00a0Roberts said<\/a> after the Dodgers\u2019 loss to the Cleveland Guardians<\/a> on Tuesday. \u201cSpring training is just not predictive. It\u2019s just not. I think for me, the takeaway is we\u2019re 3-1 and the guys that we expect to swing the bats aren\u2019t swinging the bats right now. So that\u2019s a good thing. They\u2019ll hit.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohtani will look to get off to a good start on the mound and get back on track at the plate Tuesday against the Guardians. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. PT.<\/p>\n Are you confident ahead of Shohei Ohtani\u2019s first start of the year?<\/p>\n LA Baseball Report<\/p>\n Get the app for faster news<\/p>\n![\"App](\"https:\/\/dodgersnation.com\/path\/to\/app-icon.png\"){kind=icon}
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