Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed some uncertainty over how Shohei Ohtani would handle a return to his full two-way role during a pitching start against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.
Ohtani needed to see all of one pitch to effectively erase any concern, and make MLB history in the process. His drive to right-center field had a 111.3 mph exit velocity and traveled 405 feet.
Ohtani’s leadoff home run was technically all the Dodgers needed in their 4-0 win at Petco Park.
With the long ball, Ohtani became the first pitcher in MLB history to hit a leadoff home run during the regular season. It of course was a second instance for Ohtani, as he previously accomplished the feat during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series in 2025.
Ohtani was back in the Dodgers lineup for a pitching start for the first time since April 22. He’d been relegated to only pitching in his last three outings as the Dodgers remain committed to balancing Ohtani’s workload.
His latest turn in the rotation was pushed back to Wednesday in order to provide Ohtani with an extra day of rest and have it lead into an off day in the Dodgers’ schedule.
“Obviously it’s a big series and with the way he’s swinging the bat, I feel it gives us the best chance to win,” Roberts explained of having Ohtani pitch and hit in the same game for only the fourth time this year. “Last week, gave him a couple days off to reset, I thought that was really beneficial.
“We have an off day tomorrow. So just all that in total, it made sense to have him in there today. … I talked to him before, about this series, and he was open and excited about doing both tonight.
“On the heels of an off day coming up, I think that played into it and just kind of solidified it by seeing how he’s moving around.”
Ohtani has been on a tear since back-to-back games without being in the lineup, though he’s downplayed that as the catalyst for improved results at the plate.
On the mound, Ohtani held the Padres scoreless over five innings. The outing lowered his season ERA to 0.73.
Shohei Ohtani chasing Dodgers record
Ohtani now has 21 leadoff home runs in his Dodgers career, which is tied with Joc Pederson for third-most in franchise history. Davey Lopes hit 28 leadoff homers and Mookie Betts holds the Dodgers franchise record with 32 home runs as the leadoff hitter.
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