Ohtani, one day after hitting a home run and a triple to help the Dodgers grab hold of the best record in baseball (52-31), toed the rubber at Kauffman Stadium and unleashed the fastest pitch of his career.

Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino was the lucky batter in the box when Ohtani hurled a 101.7-mph four-seam fastball down the plate. In Pasquantino’s credit, he made contact with the ball, but sent it directly to Dodgers second baseman Hyeseong Kim for a tailor-made 4-6-3 double play to get Ohtani out of the inning.

According to Dodger Insider, the previous fastest pitch Ohtani threw was 101.4-mph back in 2022. And the team said Ohtani’s pitch was the hardest thrown by any Dodger so far this season.

He threw a 100-mph pitch earlier in that at-bat, too.

Saturday marked Ohtani’s third start in his return to the mound after he underwent elbow surgery in September ’23. He served solely as a designated hitter during his first season as a Dodger last year.

He pitched just one inning in each of his first two starts, but went two full innings Saturday marking it the longest outing since his return to the hill.

Through three appearances (four innings), Ohtani has allowed one run on three hits while striking out three.