The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying not to put so much pressure on the pitching arm of Shohei Ohtani. While he is playing in bursts and single innings, Ohtani continues to show that his pitching ability is still one of the best in the league.
Shohei Ohtani Delivers Fastest Pitch of Career
On Saturday, at the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to give Ohtani his third start of the season. It would also be the first time that manager Dave Roberts would allow Ohtani to pitch more than one inning this season. In the two innings and 27 pitches thrown, Ohtani delivered a strikeout while allowing one hit and one walk.
Something huge occurred during his longer session against the Royals. In one of his pitches, Ohtani delivered a 101.7 MPH four-seam fastball.
That pitch would result in Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino hitting a ground ball that would lead to a double play out for Kansas City.
That fast would be Ohtani’s fastest pitch thrown in his career, and it would be the fastest pitch thrown by a Dodger all season.
The Royals would go on to defeat the Dodgers 9-5.
The storyline was easily Ohtani’s pitching. Not many experts and fans doubted that he would return to his pitching prime he was in 2023. This was his first multiple-inning game since requiring right elbow surgery on his UCL in September of 2023.
Dodgers Not Desperate for More Pitches From Shohei Ohtani
Roberts talked about Ohtani slowly returning to his pre-injury 2023 season form, where he was pitching multiple innings.
While many Los Angeles Dodgers fans want to see Ohtani pitch for the first time, it is crucial not to overuse the international superstar. Roberts talked about Ohtani’s availability to play multiple innings in Saturday’s game before the matchup. There was a lot of optimism, but there was a lot of caution.
“I don’t want to kind of put him in a box, but to see him go out there for a second inning, that’s our plan. It’s pitch count, it’s stress, it’s all that stuff. So I think to be able to get him into the second inning, I think will be a bonus. We will see how it goes from there.”
While the Dodgers would love to have a fully healthy or fully confident Ohtani at the mound, the Dodgers aren’t looking to rely on him to be a star in late June.
The Dodgers are looking for Ohtani to be at his full strength by the time they get to the postseason.
The team has built a lot of depth and a great selection of pitchers.
This includes qualified starters, reliable relief pitchers, and clutch closers.
Dodgers infielder Max Muncy was among those who felt that depth and the team being in sync were more needed.
“Every night, it’s a different guy. We haven’t gotten everyone to click at the same time, but we’ve had enough guys take over on certain nights that we’ve been able to kind of roll through it. But we’re still waiting for everyone to get going at the same time.”
Ohani has pitched four total innings in three games, and in those games, he has allowed only three hits, one run, and one walk while delivering three strikeouts.
Ohtani played two innings on Saturday, but throwing his fastest pitch in his career in the meantime is a great sign of potential greatness to come late in the season and postseason.
