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It took two starts and 46 pitches for 669 days, but Shohei Ohtani finally notched his first strikeout as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sunday afternoon in the Chavez Valley, the two-way superstar fired 18 pitches, no-hit innings against Washingtonians, incited the batter and preyed on the Otani version that fans had been waiting for.
This is not about speed. It wasn’t about domination. It wasn’t about workload either. It was about future whispers. It was a two-way firepower bullying that made Ohatani a once-in-a-century wonder and landed the Dodgers in December 2023.
After missing everything in 2024 as a pitcher while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, Otani returned to double duty, and his return on Sunday took an even more meaningful step.
His inning? Short and surgical.
He only needed one pitch to retire from Nationals lead man CJ Abrams.
After Moolie Betts’ error was short and the error Otani mixed the pitches like a mixed painter’s painter. Sweeper, fastball, fastball, sweeper. Sitting, Louis Garcia.
The crowd of 48,200 at Dodger Stadium (preparations thriving from pre-match warm-ups) exploded like October.
Otani finished his second start with an 88 mph cutter, finishing his seven-pitch battle with Nathaniel Lowe in the second strikeout of the inning.
Otani didn’t return to the mound in two innings, creating a total of 18 pitches. He made 28 people in one job in his first start.
It was just one inning. But in that, you could see the promise.
The Padres six days ago, Otani’s first pitch since August 2023 was greeted with deafening cheers and ended with a rough takeoff. One run, two hits, no strikeouts. He threw a pitch of 28, avoiding some command issues, calling it a day.
However, this outing was different.
I bit the splitter. The slider had a tilt. The fastballs are crowded with 99 mph, but they ate their familiar later years. And unlike his season debut, this time there was a swing and miss one. The Nationals lineup didn’t look like an overmatch, but they weren’t comfortable either. And when Otani is on, comfort is a gorgeous opponent and rarely enjoyable.
For Dodgers fans, this slow development is part of the plan. The team is in no hurry. Otani is more caught in the string than anything he’s ever worn, but that’s intentional. Calculation. He is expected to pitch modestly until summer while continuing to lock his lineup as one of MLB’s best designated batters.
Don’t make mistakes, he’s raking it.
Until Sunday, Otani leads the National League with a home run at 25.
But is this? This tasted much larger. The Dodgers don’t just want Otani to be a batsman. They want unicorns. Double barrel weapon. Those who can reap the opponent’s order at the first top can drop a 450-foot homer in the lower half of the inning. They want that big name.
And on Sunday, for one epic inning, they saw his flash of light.
Next step? extend. More innings. More strikeouts. Probably a victory too.
But for now, the Dodgers take this little victory. Because when Otani is on the mound, even on just 18 pitches – it feels like baseball is bent towards something beautiful again.
And what if this was just the beginning? The rest of the league is a better brace for the storm.
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