Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani unleashes fastest pitch of career

Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter, was back on the mound Saturday. 

The Kansas City Royals hosted the NL West-leading Dodgers. Ohtani had his longest pitching outing of the season in Kansas City. While the Dodgers dropped Saturday’s game against the Royals, Ohtani gave up just one hit over two innings. 

He had gone just one inning in previous starts this season as he continues to ramp up pitching activity after having surgery in 2023 on his elbow.

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One of the pitches Ohtani threw from the Kauffman Stadium mound hit 101.7 mph, the highest speed of any pitch the two-way star has thrown in his MLB career.

“Getting Shohei through two innings throwing the ball the way he did is certainly a positive,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I didn’t know it was 102 (mph). I just saw 100, so, no, I didn’t expect that. Now I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that he feels good coming out of today.”

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Ohtani struck out three times as the leadoff batter in the Dodgers’ 9-5 loss.

The three-time MVP did not pitch last season, his first with the Dodgers, while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He made 86 starts as a starter over five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, going 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA.

On Saturday, Ohtani threw first-pitch strikes to all seven batters he faced and finished with 27 pitches, 20 for strikes.

“I’m happy that I was able to attack the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “There’s some little things that I still need to work on, but overall I’m pretty happy.”

He allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. in the first and walked Maikel Garcia before throwing the 101.7 mph fastball on an 0-2 count to Vinnie Pasquantino, who grounded into a double play.

“It’s something I don’t think I would be able to do in a live BP setting,” Ohtani said. “It’s nice to be able to hit this velo and see how my body reacts.”

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The 30-year-old has 29 homers this season as Los Angeles’ primary designated hitter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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