Padres manager gives honest opinion on facing Shohei Ohtani as pitcher for first time in Dodgers uniform

Los Angeles Dodgers will send Shohei Ohtani to the mound for the series opener against the San Diego Padres on Monday. It will be the first start for the two-way phenom in Dodger Blue.

Ohtani has not pitched in the majors since his second Tommy John Surgery in September 2023. The two-way phenom has faced live hitters over the last few weeks but did not play in any rehab games with the Dodgers utilizing him as a designated hitter.

Ahead of the three-time MVP's first start in more than a year, Padres manager Mike Shildt shared his honest take on the two-way phenom's return to the mound.

"It's awesome, It'll be great. I mean you want to compete. You're in the big leagues; you want to enjoy the teams that are the healthiest and face the best. That's what I signed up for, and that's what's exciting to me. Ohtani is back, and it's good for him and good for the game. But, we're gonna show up. We're gonna be excited in that battery box, I can tell you that."

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Shohei Ohtani will be taking the mound against Padres ace Dylan Cease, who pitched seven scoreless innings against the NL West leaders in his last outing on Tuesday.

Dave Roberts reflects on Shohei Ohtani's first start of the season

Sbohei Ohtani's route to his pitching return has been different than the usual as he has skipped pitching in rehab games. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that the team wanted to ramp up his preparation by starting him in a major league game.

"I think it's more driven by the fact that it doesn't necessarily need to be a typical starting pitcher rampup," Roberts said. "Then to potentially keep running this process out, to have him taxed for a game, where he feels that he's equipped to go an inning or two and then continue to build up from there right now -- in that sense, not surprising.

The Dodgers have been hit by injuries to several arms in the rotation and with Shohei Ohtani's return, Roberts will see a big boost to his pitching staff.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash