Ohtani last pitched in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Between starts, all he did was hit 54 home runs, knock in 130 runs, steal 59 bases in 2024 to win his second straight MVP and third overall as a full-time hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the World Series.

For the first time since August 2023, Shohei Ohtani stepped onto the mound in a regular-season game. The Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way star, limited to just hitting for nearly two years while recovering from an elbow surgery, returned to pitching on Monday, doing so for the first time since signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the team.

It wasn’t a perfect performance by Shohei Ohtani. But Monday night’s long-awaited return to the mound marked a resounding success for Ohtani and the Dodgers nonetheless.