LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani launched his campaign for baseball’s most prestigious pitching honor Tuesday night, tossing six scoreless innings in his season debut as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 in wet conditions.
The Japanese superstar contributed at the plate as well, recording one hit in three at-bats while drawing two walks and striking out once during the rain-soaked contest.
Los Angeles has eagerly anticipated witnessing Ohtani’s complete dual-threat capabilities since signing him to a massive $700 million, 10-year contract prior to the 2024 campaign. His pitching was sidelined that entire season as he rehabilitated from his second significant elbow operation, performed in September 2023 during his tenure with the Los Angeles Angels.
During the previous season, the organization carefully managed his return to pitching duties. Ohtani compiled a 1-1 record with a 2.87 ERA, recording 62 strikeouts across 47 innings in 14 appearances. His four-seam fastball reached a personal-best average velocity of 98.4 mph.
“Last year, I felt good,” Ohtani said through a translator. “But this year I do feel a lot more loose and easy pitching overall. Looking back at today’s outing specifically, that wasn’t necessarily the case. So that’s something I want to work on. But compared to last season I felt more loose and easy.”
Ohtani’s spring preparation was restricted to just two exhibition starts since he competed for Japan in the World Baseball Classic without taking the mound.
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts has observed that Ohtani maintains higher personal standards for his pitching performance compared to his hitting.
“He’s never going to be satisfied,” Roberts said. “There’s always something that he can improve on or get better at and that’s what fuels him.”
The right-hander has now compiled 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings during regular season play, extending back to his August 27, 2025 appearance against Cincinnati — establishing a new personal record. This surpassed his previous career-best streak of 21 2/3 innings achieved in June 2022 while playing for the Angels.
“If he’s able to do it the whole year, that’s just a huge boost to our pitching staff,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “I expect nothing short of almost a Cy Young out of him.”
Almost?
“I think he’s got enough pressure already,” Muncy said, “but it doesn’t seem to faze him at all.”
Cleveland managed just one hit against Ohtani — a two-out double from Rhys Hoskins during the fourth inning. The ace recorded six strikeouts while issuing three walks.
Ohtani also succeeded in his inaugural automated ball-strike challenge.
The pitcher handled his first seven batters without incident before walking Gabriel Arias in the third frame. Following another walk to Steven Kwan with two outs, runners occupied first and second base. With the count at 1-1 against CJ Kayfus, Ohtani disputed a ball call. The ruling was reversed, creating a 1-2 count, and he eliminated Kayfus with a swinging strikeout on his subsequent delivery to conclude the inning.
Steady rainfall intensified during Ohtani’s final two innings of work. The grounds crew attended to the mound’s front slope, particularly his landing area, after he issued his third walk with two outs in the sixth. Using a metal implement, he cleared accumulated dirt from his cleats. Ohtani then dispatched Hoskins with a single pitch to complete the inning.
“He’s unflappable,” Roberts said.
At the plate, Ohtani has struggled through his initial five contests. The four-time MVP is currently hitting .167 without any home runs or RBIs. He launched 55 homers during 2025.
He maintained his on-base streak at 36 games, matching his career-long achievement.
“I’ve been able to get on base and that’s a good thing,” Ohtani said. “But on pitches that I should be making impact I’m not quite able to do that to the extent that I should be able to. That’s the part that I’m not quite happy about.”
Witnessing Ohtani’s daily preparation routine has convinced Muncy that pitching represents his primary passion.
“He’s really bought into everything with pitching — his mechanics, how to attack hitters. He just focuses on it so much. You can really, really tell he loves it,” Muncy said.
Roberts indicated Ohtani will receive six days of rest before his next scheduled start.
“I believe the team should be prioritizing Yoshinobu (Yamamoto), (Tyler) Glasnow and (Blake) Snell when he’s back,” Ohtani said. “So I think it’s easy to kind of fit me into that schedule whenever the team feels that’s a good thing. What’s most important is that we’re all healthy in October.”
