ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani returned to the Angel Stadium mound with 4 1/3 innings of five-hit, four-run ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night in his first pitching appearance in Anaheim since he left the Los Angeles Angels nearly two years ago.
Ohtani put on a two-way show for his old home crowd with seven strikeouts. He fanned Mike Trout twice, getting his friend and fellow MVP the second time with his fastest pitch of the night — a 101-m.p.h. fastball in the fourth inning.
Ohtani also staked himself to an early lead by tripling and scoring as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter before he even took the mound, entertaining Angels fans with the same inimitable feats he accomplished regularly during his first six major league seasons with their club.
Ohtani’s mound start was his longest since he returned to pitching two months ago, but he didn’t finish strong.
He gave up three consecutive one-out hits in the fifth and left after Zach Neto’s two-run double trimmed the Dodgers’ lead to 5-4. Anthony Banda still escaped the jam, but only after the Angels loaded the bases.
Ohtani also gave up a homer to Taylor Ward during the Angels’ two-run second inning. He looked sharp in the next two innings before getting chased by two singles and Neto’s drive.
Ohtani is still beloved in Anaheim by fans who mostly couldn’t blame him for leaving a team that could never assemble a winning lineup around him and Trout during six consecutive losing seasons.
The three-time MVP — two of those trophies claimed with the Angels — has received cheers whenever he returns to the Big A, although that’s also because much of the crowd wears Dodger Blue for these Freeway Series rivalry games.
The fans were locked in on the main event in this showdown. After Trout and Ohtani acknowledged each other with slight nods and smirks, Ohtani finished his 1-2-3 first inning by throwing five straight fastballs to Trout before striking him out looking with a sweeper.
The MVP ex-teammates hadn’t faced each other since Ohtani famously struck out Trout in Tokyo — with the same pitch — to end the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Ohtani was even meaner to Trout in their second meeting, starting him out with a 73-m.p.h. curve before eventually fanning him with that blazing fastball in the low outside corner.
Outside of Trout, Ohtani saw plenty of familiar faces Wednesday. Seven of the nine hitters in the Angels’ starting lineup played with him in Anaheim.
But Ohtani hadn’t been on the mound at the Big A since Aug. 23, 2023, when he abruptly left a start against Cincinnati in the second inning with elbow pain later revealed to be a torn ligament. The resulting surgery kept him off the mound entirely in 2024 after he signed his 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
Ohtani returned to pitching two months ago, and the Dodgers have gradually built up his innings while maintaining his everyday role as their DH and leadoff hitter.
Before his mound return, Ohtani homered in each of the first two games of this series — although he also lined into a triple play Tuesday.
After getting loud pregame cheers, Ohtani began by driving a 2-2 pitch from Kyle Hendricks into deep right for a triple, and he quickly scored on Betts’ single. Will Smith added his 15th homer a few minutes later to stake his pitcher to a 3-0 lead.
Ward blasted a 97-m.p.h. fastball from Ohtani to right for his 29th homer, just the second allowed by Ohtani this season. Yoán Moncada then doubled and scored on two flyouts.
Ohtani struck out at the plate in the second inning, but he drew a walk in the fourth, loading the bases and chasing Hendricks.
Angels reliever Andrew Chafin struck out Ohtani with a slider when the slugger came up again in the sixth.
Discussion about this post