Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Adds up-down to bullpen session
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Ohtani (elbow) threw an up-down bullpen session Saturday in Arizona, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
This was the first time Ohtani has done an up-down -- meaning he simulated a break between innings -- as he continues this pitching progression. Aside from the added wrinkle, the session was similar to recent bullpens the two-way star has thrown, as he tossed around 35 pitches consisting of four-seamers, two-seamers and splitters. Ohtani has yet to deploy his full pitch mix or throw to live hitters, however, so he's probably still at least a couple months away from returning to game action. The Dodgers plan to have him build up through simulated games since his role as a designated hitter precludes him from going on a minor-league rehab pitching assignment.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Completes late comeback
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Ohtani went 3-for-6 with a three-home run, two doubles, an additional RBI and two total runs scored in Friday's 14-11 win over the Diamondbacks.
Ohtani had an RBI double in the second inning, but he saved the fireworks for the ninth. He punctuated the Dodgers' six-run rally in the ninth with his homer, putting them ahead again after they previously blew a five-run lead. Ohtani is on one of his power binges again -- during his seven-game hitting streak, he has gone 12-for-29 (.414) with five homers, four doubles and a triple, as well as 10 RBI and 11 runs scored. His batting average (.304) is above .300 for the first time since April 9, and he's added a 1.063 OPS, 12 homers, 20 RBI, 43 runs, 10 steals, eight doubles and four triples over 37 contests. Another 50-50 campaign is likely asking too much, but Ohtani still has 40-40 potential at his current pace.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Belts homer No. 10
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Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Marlins.
It's the fourth time in the last 10 games that Ohtani has gone yard, a stretch in which the 30-year-old superstar is batting .385 (15-for-39) with a blistering 11 extra-base hits, including five doubles and two triples. On the season, he boasts a .296/.399/.607 slash line with 10 homers, 10 steals, 15 RBI and 38 runs in 34 contests.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Goes deep, swipes bag
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Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base in Monday's win against the Marlins.
Ohtani walked, stole second base and scored a run in the third inning. He later belted a two-run shot in the fifth inning for his ninth long ball of the year. He's gone deep three times in his last six appearances after a seven-game homerless drought. Ohtani owns a .292/.399/.585 slash line with 17 extra-base hits and 10 steals over 153 plate appearances.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Goes deep in three-hit effort
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Ohtani went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two additional runs and a walk in a 10-3 win against Atlanta on Saturday.
Ohtani broke a 1-1 tie with a 415-foot solo homer to center field in the third inning. He reached base three other times in the rout and pushed his league-leading runs-scored total to 35. Ohtani's role as Los Angeles' leadoff hitter has been a factor in his accumulation of just 11 RBI so far this season, but the two-way star has otherwise been excellent with a .293/.396/.569 slash line while maintaining a 40-40 pace with eight homers and nine stolen bases through 31 games.
Ohtani (elbow) will continue throwing off a mound twice per week going forward, per MLB.com.
Ohtani took a brief pause in his throwing program upon going on the paternity list April 18, but he returned to bullpen work April 26 and is expected to resume his previous throwing schedule, which included twice-per-week bullpens, moving forward. The two-way star continues to feature as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter and primary DH, but it remains uncertain when he'll make his debut as a pitcher for Los Angeles.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Flashes power, speed in rout
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Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run, a second run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 15-2 win over the Marlins.
The 30-year-old superstar set the tone for the night when he ripped the first pitch he saw from Sandy Alcantara down the right-field line for a leadoff homer. It was Ohtani's first homer since becoming a new father earlier this month, but it hasn't been a distraction for him -- over his last 11 games, he's slashing .311/.415/.622 with three long balls, four steals, five RBI and 14 runs.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Reaches four times, swipes bag
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Ohtani went 1-for-2 with a run, three walks and a stolen base in a 7-6 extra-inning victory versus Miami on Monday.
The Marlins largely pitched around Ohtani in the contest, putting him on base via walk three times. The superstar slugger was able to make the most of his lone hit by following his first-inning single with a steal of second base before coming around to score on a Freddie Freeman base knock. Ohtani hasn't homered in his past seven contests, but he's picked up a pair of thefts in that span while going 8-for-27 (.296 batting average) at the plate.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Back Sunday, as expected
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Ohtani (personal) was reinstated from the paternity list and is expected to start at designated hitter Sunday against the Rangers, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
Ohtani was away from the Dodgers for the past two games to attend the birth of his daughter, but he's back with the club for Sunday's series finale in Texas. Through 20 games this season, the 30-year-old has a .288/.380/.550 slash line with six homers, five steals eight RBI and 21 runs in 92 plate appearances.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Expected to return Sunday
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Ohtani (paternity) is expected to be back in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Rangers, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Ohtani missed the first two games of the series to welcome the birth of his daughter, but he'll be back with the Dodgers for Sunday's finale. Eddie Rosario has served as the designated hitter for the Dodgers for the past two games, but he'll likely be dumped from the big-league roster once Ohtani is activated.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Away on paternity leave
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The Dodgers placed Ohtani on the paternity list Friday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Ohtani will be allowed to miss up to three games while he spends time with his growing family, which means he'll be back with the team by Tuesday at the latest. Eddie Rosario will come up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill the open spot on the active roster.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Slugs moonshot in victory
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Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in an 8-7 win against Colorado on Wednesday.
Ohtani led off the bottom half of the first inning in jaw-dropping fashion, belting a 448-foot solo shot to right field off veteran German Marquez. The two-way star plated another run (albeit in less dramatic fashion) later in the frame on a single to right field to cap a seven-run opening inning for Los Angeles. Ohtani is tied for fourth in the league with six home runs, and he's added five steals, putting him on pace to approach a 40-40 campaign after logging MLB's first ever 50-50 season last year.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Homers among three hits Monday
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Ohtani went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional runs against the Rockies in a 5-3 win Monday.
Ohtani's homer came in the third inning, when he belted a 408-foot shot to center field. Prior to Monday, the star slugger had been in a bit of a power drought, going deep just once over his previous nine games. Ohtani's spot atop the Dodgers' order has hamstrung his ability to drive in runs to some extent, as he has just six RBI through 18 games. Beyond that, though, he's been quite productive, posting a .296/.390/.549 slash line, five homers and four stolen bases. He's also scored 18 runs, second-most in the majors.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Tosses 30 pitches in side session
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Ohtani (elbow) threw 30 pitches and sat around 90-to-92 miles per hour with his fastball in his most recent bullpen session Saturday, MLB.com reports.
After undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in November, Ohtani has bounced back nicely while filling an everyday role at designated hitter for the Dodgers to begin the season, slashing .273/.377/.500 with four home runs and four stolen bases through 17 games. He still has yet to make his debut on the mound for the Dodgers while ramping back up from his September 2023 Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, but he's been gradually increasing the volume and intensity of his bullpen sessions and could be ready to face hitters within the next few weeks. He remains without a clear timeline to make his first appearance as a pitcher with the Dodgers, and because of the impact he provides as a hitter, Ohtani won't be a candidate to go out on a minor-league rehab assignment to get stretched out. Instead, he'll have to build up as a pitcher through simulated games, which the Dodgers will have to strategically map out so as not to interfere with his regular routine as the team's DH.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Double shy of cycle Monday
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Ohtani went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a triple and a walk in Monday's 6-4 loss the Nationals.
The Japanese superstar was a perfect 3-for-3 against southpaw starter MacKenzie Gore. After leading the game off with an infield single, Ohtani slugged a 378-foot homer in the third inning to tie the game at 2-2. The three-time MVP wasn't finished, however, returning in the fifth to hit his first triple of the season. Ohtani looks headed for another great season, as he's opened with a .311/.436/.644 slash line across 55 plate appearances.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Tossing another bullpen Saturday
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Ohtani (elbow) is throwing a bullpen session Saturday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
Ohtani threw what was described as a "light" bullpen in the outfield Thursday, and Saturday's session is slated to be "fuller," per Plunkett. The two-way star doesn't yet have a timeline to face hitters, but he's back to ramping up after slowing down his throwing progression in the early part of March as he focused on his preparations as a hitter. If Ohtani's throwing rehab doesn't experience any additional delays, he could make his first MLB pitching appearance since 2023 at some point in May.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Timeline to face hitters uncertain
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Ohtani (elbow) threw a bullpen session Wednesday and is scheduled for another Saturday, but there's not yet a projected date for him to face live hitters, Cody Snavely of DodgersBeat reports.
Ohtani resumed tossing bullpens last Saturday when he threw 25 pitches (all fastballs) in his first session off a mound since Feb. 25. The two-way star then threw a "light" session Wednesday, and he's scheduled for a "heavier" bullpen Saturday, according to manager Dave Roberts. However, there remains no definitive timeframe for when Ohtani will begin throwing to hitters, and the organization appears intent to practice patience in the Japanese hurler's ramp-up. Roberts said in late March that he is hoping to get at least 18-to-20 starts from Ohtani this season, per Valentina Martinez of SI.com, which would likely require him to begin pitching in games by mid-May.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Walks it off on bobblehead night
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Ohtani went 3-for-5 with a solo walk-off home run in Wednesday's 6- 5 win against Atlanta.
Ohtani took center stage on the night the Dodgers handed out a bobblehead to fans commemorating last season's MVP award. The superstar slugger managed a pair of singles across his first four plate appearances, then ended the game in dramatic fashion with a walk-off blast to center field against Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias in the ninth inning. Ohtani has three homers -- all of the solo variety -- through eight contests this season after going deep a career-high 54 times during the regular season last year.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Notches first theft of campaign
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Ohtani went 0-for-2 with two runs, two walks and a stolen base in a 7-3 win against Detroit on Saturday.
Though he ended the game without a hit for the first time this season, Ohtani drew two walks and scored twice. The superstar slugger also got into the stolen base column for the first time on the campaign with a swipe of second base in the seventh inning. After becoming MLB's first 50-50 player last year, there's some expectation that Ohtani will be less active on the basepaths this season, but Saturday served as a reminder that he's still capable of making an impact in that category.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Goes deep in home opener
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Ohtani went 2-or-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's 5-4 victory versus the Tigers.
Ohtani provided a key insurance run in the seventh inning with a solo blast to left field. The superstar slugger is off to a hot start to the 2025 campaign, slashing .417/.500/1.000 with two homers and two RBI through three contests. He's yet to attempt a stolen base and is expected to run less following last season's historic 50-50 campaign, but Ohtani still figures to be one of the baseball's most impactful bats and is also expected to resume throwing off the mound during the upcoming weekend as he works toward returning to pitching in games for the first time since 2023.
