For all the complaints that they're ruining baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers won for only the 13th time in their last 29 games Friday night (LAD 3, MIL 1). In those 29 games, they've been outscored 115-136 and averaged under four runs scored (3.97 to be precise). The Dodgers are at no risk of losing the NL West or missing the postseason, but they're going through it right now, for sure.
There was good news prior to Friday's game, however. Shohei Ohtani, who has not appeared in a game as a pitcher since July 3, threw his first bullpen session since being shut down with knee and biceps injuries. He threw 34 pitches and used his entire pitch mix (fastball, breaking balls, etc.).
Ohtani's return to the rotation is not imminent, though he is moving in the right direction. "Obviously continuing to build up volume and intensity, and all of these things are positive," GM Brandon Gomes said after Ohtani's bullpen session (via The Athletic). A lot of it, we just need to take our time and see if he comes in feeling good tomorrow, and then OK, what's the next step?
A lot of it is just how he's bouncing back, and do we think it's prudent to keep progressing?" Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani could throw one or two more bullpen sessions, then he would need to face hitters in live batting practice at least twice before stepping back into the rotation. As they did last year during his return from UCL surgery, Ohtani would essentially work as an opener and build up his pitch count in MLB games rather than go on a minor-league rehab assignment. "I think that then you start to think about who the guys that he essentially would open for, and that sort of shortens the list," Roberts said Friday (via MLB.com).
"But I do think that for Shohei, knowing that any inning is additive is important, and it was a formula that worked." Ohtani, 32, pitched to a 1.79 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 85 ⅔ innings spread across 14 starts before his knee and biceps began to act up. As a hitter, he owns a .290/.390/.540 batting line with 27 home runs. He leads the National League with a .921 OPS.
Two more bullpens and then two live BP sessions would put Ohtani on track to pitch in an MLB game in early September. He always pitches with extra rest and it's not a given he'll be able to stretch out to even five innings before the end of the regular season. The Dodgers will take whatever they can get, though.
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