PHILADELPHIA — Shohei Ohtani threw a 26-pitch bullpen session Saturday before the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, another step toward his mound return.
Recovering from right elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023, the two-way star threw his second bullpen session since resuming his pitching ramp-up. He paused after his mound session on Feb. 25 to prepare for Opening Day as a hitter, then threw a bullpen on March 29.
He incorporated splitters Saturday in a session Dodgers manager Dave Roberts labeled as “positive.”
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“It’s a week, but then there’s also the one in between, where he touches the mound on a Thursday,” Roberts said. “And I think it’s just more trying to keep him on a similar seven-day program, and what the schedule would look [like] going out, and build from there.”
When Ohtani is ready for game pitching, the Dodgers plan to use a six-man rotation.
A three-time MVP and four-time All-Star, Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481⅔ innings as a pitcher.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
