A sparse crowd braved the heat, which was approaching 100 degrees when Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani walked off the mound at Camelback Ranch. But those who did were treated to a dominant pitching performance from the four-time MVP in his first start of spring training.
They repaid the favor with a standing ovation.
"I've learned that you don't ever underestimate or try to make predictions on what Shohei's going to do,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He's always going to deliver. Yeah, I thought he would be a little bit more rusty than he was today. The breaking ball was good, got some swing and miss. The fastball command, he was working ahead in the count today. So across the board, really good."
Ohtani limited the San Francisco Giants to one hit and overshot the innings goal Roberts laid out Wednesday morning by pitching to one batter in the fifth inning. Ohtani didn’t give up a run in those 4 ⅓ innings, and the only other blemishes on the performance were a pair of walks and a hit batter.
“I was pretty happy with the pitch count today,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “In terms of the next outing, I do want to be better at executing in two-strike counts. I just didn’t finish off hitters as much as I wanted to.”
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Ohtani is scheduled to make a start in the Freeway Series against the Angels before his first start of the season. If the rest of spring training goes smoothly, Roberts said he expects Ohtani to be ready to throw about five innings in his first regular-season start.
At that length, the Dodgers won’t need to designate long relievers to piggyback Ohtani's starts. But Roberts stressed the importance of still carrying relievers who can throw multiple innings as the starters continue to build up early in the season.
“Once the season starts you’ve got to see how he’s feeling, how his stuff looks, how he’s throwing the baseball,” Roberts said after the Dodgers' 5-1 win that was stopped after the eighth inning due to the heat.
Most of Ohtani’s build-up has taken place outside of competition, as he balanced playing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan as a position player, and addressing pitching on the side. By last week, he’d ramped up to a four-inning live batting practice session against his teammates on the national team in Miami.
“It actually didn’t feel like it was my first spring training outing,” Ohtani said. “I do see this as more of an extension of a live BP situation. So it didn't feel too bad going into this game.”
Ohtani didn’t hit on Wednesday. With the heat and his unique spring, the team wanted to let him focus on pitching. He’s expected to be the designated hitter in Cactus League play Friday.
“In terms of the hitting, it did help that I played in an atmosphere that was pretty intense and competitive,” Ohtani said. “So the fact that I had to get things going earlier in the offseason maybe was the only thing that really affected my preparation. But I think it helped me more so than it hurt me, as I played through these meaningful games in the World Baseball Classic.”
Ohtani used a wide range of his arsenal Friday, landing an especially effective curveball for a called third strike against Heliot Ramos in the fourth inning.
“Never really surprised with him,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “Everyone knows what he's capable of. Everyone knows his main goal when he goes out there. He expects perfection every single time. And I think he was very, very close to it today.”
Roki Sasaki erratic in latest Cactus League start
Right-hander Roki Sasaki’s command issues, a theme this spring, returned in his start Tuesday evening against the Royals. But Roberts doubled down Wednesday morning on the team’s plan for Sasaki.
“He’s going to be one of our starters,” Roberts said. “I’ve been very consistent in the sense of, we don’t solely evaluate spring training in its entirety alone. So with that, he’s obviously got things to prove — consistency of getting guys out, consistency of strike-throwing. But he’s going to get that opportunity to start the season and we’ll see where we go from there.”
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Sasaki pitched in parts of five innings Tuesday, for a total of 3 ⅓ innings of work. Along with the four hits and three runs he surrendered, Sasaki issued four walks. Three consecutive free passes in the third inning prompted Roberts to temporarily pull Sasaki from the game.
"The first two innings I actually felt pretty good, intensity-wise,” Sasaki said through an interpreter. “It was OK. But the third inning I threw a lot of two-seamers that kind of threw my mechanics a little off."
Roberts also used a mound visit in the fourth inning when Sasaki said his calves were close to cramping up.
Roster moves
The Dodgers officially selected the contract of utility player Santiago Espinal, as expected. They also optioned right-hander Kyle Hurt, after he recorded a 3.68 ERA in seven Cactus League appearances this spring.
“He’s had a great spring,” Roberts said. “But I think for Kyle it’s the thought of, he hasn’t pitched a whole lot the last couple years. We realize how talented he is. But to get him to get a foundation this year — be able to go back-to-back, pitch two innings in a night then see how he is on the third day to go out and pitch and see how he responds. Those are things that are just kind of getting some tread, some wear on his tires for an analogy. That’s what he needs to do.”
Hurt was sidelined for much of the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and finished with triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers also optioned right-handed pitcher River Ryan and reassigned infielder Ryan Fitzgerald to minor league camp.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
