Shohei Ohtani returns to pitcher mound after a long wait The Dodgers pitcher's debut ball speed soared into triple digits

Shohei Ohtani has accomplished many amazing things in a Dodge robe. But in his first full season in Los Angeles and beyond, the long road to recovery prevented him from revealing the trait that truly made him a major league unicorn: pitching.

Nearly 22 months after his last major league start, 21 months after undergoing his second major surgery on his right elbow, and 18 months after signing a then-record $700 million contract with Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani ushered in the much-anticipated return to the Major League Pitcher Hill today, starting in the series opener of Dodgers' 6-3 win over the Padres.

Shohei Ohtani lost one inning in the Dodgers' first start, and two of the four hits contributed two points. Prior to the game, Don Drysdale's 29 home runs were the most of any player in Dodgers history who has started at least once. Ohtani, who is now a Dodger hit 79 hits, easily surpassed and topped the list.

"When he was an angel, I used to watch him from a distance," head coach Dave Roberts said before the game, "and now I think I have the best seat — watching this guy start and then play." This is crazy. "

Dodger Arena, which was packed long before the opening pitch was made, (the crowd was lined with the number 17 jersey) clearly agreed. When Ohtani came in to warm up, the fans erupted in loud cheers, and a large crowd of spectators along the left field continued to stand until he moved to the home cowshed. As Michael Bublé's "Feeling Good" song sounded, Ohtani jogged up the pitcher's mound to cause even more shocking sounds.

Ohtani hit back-to-back first-run hits by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez Jr., before scoring his first outs on the 18th floor with Manny Machado's flying sacrifice. He then let the next two hitters knock out the ball and knock Alez to the base.

He threw 28 pitches (16 good) and had a top speed of 100.2 mph on a four-seam speedball — tied with Michael Kopech for the Dodgers' second-fastest ball of the season behind Roki Sasaki's 100.5 miles. Ohtani has 14 balls at or over 98 mph.

Ohtani then walked down the pitcher's mound and returned to the rest area, ready to start the second half of the first inning. In the opening shot against Padres starter Dylan Cease, he had a strikeout on his swing — and hit a two-run in three innings to make up for the loss of points.

Today is the 12th time that Shohei Ohtani has played as a "trailblazer and starting pitcher". He became the fourth starting pitcher to play the first batter after 1900, forming an exclusive club with Cesar Tovar (September 22, 1968), Al Dark (September 27, 1953), and Jim Jones (September 30, 1901) – all three of them only once.

As Otani said, the second-knife status is really the norm for him. He built a career as a hitter and pitcher. But for the Dodgers and their fans, it's still a novelty to witness a full-fledged second-rate player.

After witnessing Ohtani's return to the Pitcher's Hill, the team was able to appreciate his extraordinary qualities.

"It was a shock from afar, and last year it was more pure imagination of what the future might be, but it really hit me in Arizona — he hit a home run to help the team win that night, and the next day he immediately went to the bullpen to practice pitching," said general manager Brandon Gomes, "and I was like, 'This can't be, right?'" And his sharp ball quality and accurate analysis of the movement of the ball are exhilarating from a baseball perspective, and we are all fans at heart. "