Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani strikes out 11 in final spring start

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers hoped Shohei Ohtani would complete six innings Tuesday, in what qualified as his last tune-up start before the regular season. One problem emerged: He struck out too many batters.

Ohtani punched out 11 Los Angeles Angels hitters through the first four innings, taxing his pitch count despite allowing only three baserunners. By that point, Ohtani had already thrown 79 pitches, right around what the Dodgers targeted as his limit. He then came back out for the top of the fifth, gave up three straight singles and exited, effectively ending his spring training.

“I thought it was another good one for him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “and he’ll be ready to go.”

Eight days ago, when he returned from the World Baseball Classic, the Dodgers weren’t quite sure where Ohtani would be in his pitching progression. He had thrown a handful of bullpen sessions and had taken part in a four-inning simulated game while serving exclusively as a hitter for Japan. But Dodgers officials hadn’t laid eyes on him. Pitching in games loomed as a major milestone.

Ohtani eased a lot of concerns while throwing 4⅓ scoreless innings and reaching 99.9 mph under triple-digit heat in Arizona last Wednesday. Six days later, he showed dominance with an assortment of pitches, recording five strikeouts with his fastball, two with his sweeper, one with his sinker and three with his curveball, a pitch he threw less than 10% of the time last season.

“I know it’s only his second one, but I think he feels good,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “He looked good for me catching. He’s in a good spot.”

Ohtani, 31, returned from a second elbow surgery to make 14 regular-season starts last season, posting a 2.87 ERA while striking out 62 batters and issuing nine walks in 47 innings. He added to his workload gradually but had stretched out fully by the time October arrived, then added another 20⅓ innings in the postseason.

The expectation this year is that Ohtani will go wire-to-wire as a pitcher, beginning with his season debut on the mound next Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians. It has been four years since Ohtani spent a full season in a rotation, a massive toll when considering his responsibilities as a hitter. Given that, the Dodgers will use off days as often as possible to maximize the amount of days off Ohtani gets between starts.

“I don’t think anyone knows how that’s going to look, but I think it’s safe to say that it’s not a situation of every sixth day, every seventh day he pitches,” Roberts said. “The desire [to pitch a full season] is high. I think it’s realistic. Then the bigger question is: How are we going to manage that and navigate it?”