Shohei Ohtani has made four starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers so far this year while remaining on a slow and cautious approach to his build-up after undergoing right elbow surgery late in the 2023 season.
Ohtani last pitched against the Houston Astros on July 5, throwing two scoreless innings while striking out the side in his final inning. That start also marked the first time Ohtani pitched on his birthday.
Ohtani was not scheduled to make another start before the All-Star break as the Dodgers had Dustin May, Emmet Sheehan and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up for their final three games.
But that has changed as the Dodgers have slotted in Ohtani to pitch on Saturday with Sheehan following in a bulk role, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Shohei Ohtani will start Saturday in SF with Emmet Sheehan to follow. #Dodgers
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 9, 2025
This will be Ohtani’s second start on the road this season with his last one coming on June 28 against the Kansas City Royals. Ohtani’s starts against the San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals and Astros have all come at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani has yet to pitch more than two innings in a game, which he’s done twice. He only threw one inning in his first two starts.
Given the All-Star break coming up, this could be the perfect opportunity to get Ohtani into the third inning. That would also follow a progression of adding an inning onto his workload after every two outings.
Ohtani has been highly impressive in his limited opportunities. He’s thrown six innings thus far while allowing just one run, striking out six and posting a 0.83 WHIP on four hits allowed.
He also dropped his career ERA to 2.99 over 487.2 innings, tallying 614 strikeouts with a 1.08 WHIP.
In addition to his pitching, Ohtani set a Dodgers franchise record when he slugged his 31st home run of the season, passing Cody Bellinger (2019) for the most homers before the All-Star Break in team history.
Shohei Ohtani not taking risks with pitching
When Ohtani was asked how his build-up is going and when he could pitch into the third inning, he said the Dodgers are carefully following a plan he and the club worked on without adding on risks.
“In my rehab progression, it’s really important to just take one step at a time,” Ohtani explained through interpreter Will Ireton. “There are times when I may be able to go another inning, but it’s really important not to take unnecessary risks and make sure that I can progress consistently.
“It’s always been this way in terms of my rehab progression, so I’m following what the team is also asking me, as well.”
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