Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani set for next pitching start

As the Los Angeles Dodgers replenished their bullpen Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts announced that two-way standout Shohei Ohtani will make his next pitching start against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 8.  

Ohtani (1-0) tossed six shutout innings during his season debut Tuesday, earning a 4-1 decision over the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium.    

Recovered from his second Tommy John surgery, Ohtani returned to the pitching mound during the second half of last season. One of the game’s top offensive talents, he is expected to make one pitching start every seven or eight days. Twenty-five starts and about 150 innings remain top season objectives.  

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Roberts said Ohtani’s outing Wednesday didn’t match his Los Angeles Angels form from 2021-23, but he overcame most obstacles.    

“Obviously, in that last inning, the mound started to get to him a little bit,” Roberts said, as reported by Yahoo Sports. “Being able to fix it and kind of get his footing back was good to get through that Hoskins at-bat.   

“But yeah, not a whole lot affects his mind.”  

Is he thinking about making a run at a Cy Young award?  

His second start will come in a series finale at Rogers Centre.   

“Last year, I felt good. But this year, I do feel a lot more loose and easy pitching overall,” Ohtani said via his interpreter. “Looking back at today’s outing specifically, that wasn’t necessarily the case. So that’s something I want to work on.”  

Entering Wednesday’s series finale, the Dodgers' brass engineered a trade, acquiring Washington Nationals right-hander Jake Elder and claiming Grant Holman off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.