Shohei Ohtani faces live batters in throwing session for first time since 2023 elbow surgery
Shohei Ohtani faced live batters in a throwing session on Sunday afternoon for the first time since his 2023 elbow surgery. That checked off another important box in his path to returning to pitching and once again becoming the two-way superstar who earned a $700 million contract in free agency.
Prior to the Los Angeles Dodgers' game versus the New York Mets, Ohtani threw to teammates Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing, in addition to game planning and communication coach J.T. Watkins. He threw 22 pitches through five at-bats, getting two strikeouts and one walk.
Advertisement
Kim made hard contact twice, including a comebacker to Ohtani, which he fielded on a hop, and a line drive to right field. Seeking assurance, Ohtani asked outfielder Teoscar Hernández if he would have caught the ball.
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior told reporters that Ohtani mostly threw fastballs at 94-95 mph, but got up to 96-97. But he also threw a splitter and a couple of sweepers in what Prior felt was an encouraging session.
"It's a big step getting on a mound, facing hitters," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday, via the New York Daily News.
Roberts added that the next step would be amping up his velocity while also throwing his slider to batters. Ohtani added breaking pitches during a session for the first time this week.
Dodgers pitchers currently rank 11th in the NL (and 22rd in MLB) with a 4.14 ERA. Starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki are all on the injured list, along with relievers Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates. So Ohtani being able to contribute will be welcomed. The question is when that will be and Ohtani isn't yet at the point where doctors, executives and coaches are ready to project any kind of timeline.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
25 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Manny Machado's 5 RBIs lead Padres' 11-1 rout of pitching-poor Dodgers
SAN DIEGO — Manny Machado had three hits and drove in five runs, Luis Arraez had three hits and scored four times, and the San Diego Padres capitalized on the Los Angeles Dodgers' lack of major league pitchers for an 11-1 victory Tuesday night. Dylan Cease (2-5) struck out 11 and yielded three hits over seven scoreless innings while ending his 11-start winless streak for the Padres, who dominated a bizarre game in this rivalry series.
Washington Post
25 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Higashioka has 5 RBIs, Carter and Langford each homer as Rangers beat Twins 16-4
MINNEAPOLIS — Kyle Higashioka had a season-high five RBIs, Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford hit home runs and the Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 16-4 on Tuesday night. Carter finished with three hits, three RBIs and scored four times for the Rangers, who had 17 hits. Jake Burger reached safely and advanced to second on a fielding error to lead off the fourth inning and scored on a double by Adolis García. Higashioka followed with a two-run single that gave Texas a 3-0 lead. The Rangers scored five runs with two outs in the fifth and Carter's two-run shot made it 10-3 in the sixth. Tyler Mahle (6-3) gave up four runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Ty France and Royce Lewis hit back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth. Trevor Larnach hit a two-out double and Ryan Jeffers followed with an RBI single in the fifth and Matt Wallner hit a leadoff homer in the sixth. Langford's leadoff homer sparked a six-run eighth that made it 16-4. France has reached base safely in a career-high 21 consecutive games and is hitting .329 (26 for 79) with 15 RBIs during that span. The Rangers are 3-4 on their nine-game road trip but have lost 13 of 20 overall. Corey Seager led off the fifth with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Carter, who moved to second on a wild pitch by starter Simeon Woods Richardson (2-3). Josh Jung hit a two-run single and García doubled before Higashioka added a two-RBI double and scored on a single by Josh Smith. Texas has won three consecutive road games for the first time this season. Jack Leiter (4-2, 3.48 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday against Minnesota's David Festa (0-1, 5.40 ERA) in the second of a three-game series. ___ AP MLB:
San Francisco Chronicle
31 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dodgers' pitching injury woes culminate in a punt. Matt Sauer takes one for the team in 11-1 blowout
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have 14 pitchers making more than $100 million combined this season on their injured list, They've been signing, promoting, playing and releasing pitchers almost daily as they engage in a perpetual scramble to assemble enough healthy arms to compete. When the Dodgers fell behind in the third inning Tuesday night while desperately short of options on the mound, the defending World Series champions essentially decided to punt a game away to the San Diego Padres. Matt Sauer, a 26-year-old minor leaguer getting his fourth callup already this season, threw 111 pitches while giving up 13 hits, three walks and nine runs and facing 30 batters in the Padres' 11-1 victory. The Dodgers allowed Sauer to pitch 4 2/3 innings with nothing close to his best stuff, and the Padres' loaded lineup feasted on him while turning a much-anticipated rivalry game into a laugher. Utilityman Kiké Hernández then took the mound during the sixth and pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run while throwing 36 pitches — none faster than 57 mph. Manager Dave Roberts grimly acknowledged that the Dodgers essentially had to give up on trying to win this game after falling behind 3-0 in the third inning. 'You've just got to look at where our 'pen is at, and appreciate what we have the next couple of days,' Roberts said. 'I felt it just wasn't smart to chase and red-line guys. I've got to give credit to Matt. That was as much as he's ever pitched, and (he) essentially took it for the team to try and stay away from other guys and give us a chance to win a series. That's what we came in here to do, and we're in position to do that.' Indeed, the Dodgers used four high-leverage relievers for five total innings while hanging on for their 8-7 victory over the Padres in 10 innings on Monday night. That left the bullpen weary behind Lou Trivino, who went out as the opener Tuesday and threw one hitless inning. The Dodgers' rotation is profoundly patchwork. With Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin and Gavin Stone headlining the list of potential starters sidelined by injury — and with Shohei Ohtani still proceeding quite deliberately in his mound comeback — Los Angeles can currently send out Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May. The other two spots in the rotation are being filled by temporary callups and/or bullpen games. The Dodgers didn't even want to try a bullpen game Tuesday after falling behind early, since Roberts thought it would be more prudent to have his bullpen largely available Wednesday when Justin Wrobleski — another rotation filler by the desperate Dodgers — takes the mound. 'It's where our staff is at right now as far as who's available, who's not,' Roberts said. 'Who we can kind of push, who we can't. And these are the starters we have, so we've got to go with it and make the best.' Sauer accepted his bizarre fate, realizing the Dodgers needed his arm to fill innings while they regrouped. 'I've just got to be better with locating the ball,' said Sauer, who signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers last winter. 'I wouldn't necessarily say (it's) a pride thing. I know my role is to eat up innings, and I feel like I've got the frame and the repertoire to do that, and I'm going to go out there and compete every time.' Everyone recognizes that the deep-pocketed Dodgers' success over the past several years has happened despite a jaw-dropping slew of major pitching injuries. Last season was similar to this campaign, with practically every pitcher on the roster missing large chunks of the season and postseason. Los Angeles won the World Series last season with an October starting rotation of late-season acquisition Jack Flaherty, Yamamoto (who missed three months of the regular season) and Walker Buehler (who also missed three months) supported by multiple bullpen games. Flaherty and Buehler then left in free agency. Roberts disagreed with the notion that the Dodgers' unlikely success with bullpen games last season — particularly in the NLDS against the Padres — could have given them false confidence in their ability to solve these major pitching woes with that strategy. 'Today wasn't really a bullpen day,' Roberts said. 'If you look at last year, certain games, you have nine guys that you have available, and we certainly didn't have that today. Somebody was going to have to take three to five innings. We weren't in that situation last year, so I don't think that's a fair comparison. When you get behind, you've got to kind of just ride it out.' ___
