Shohei Ohtani set to start Game 1 of NLDS, with no

PHILADELPHIA — The last time Shohei Ohtani took the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies, it was the first time all 12 months he seemed like a true beginning pitcher again.

Ohtani, of course, had pitched a lot before that Sept. 16 sport at Dodger Stadium, when he spun 5 no-hit innings against a Phillies staff on the verge of a National League East division title. Up to that level, the two-way star had been making begins for the earlier three months in his return from a second profession Tommy John surgical procedure.

During that stretch, however, Ohtani was under strict limitations. He pitched only one inning in his first two outings, two innings in the pair after that, and continued a slow, gradual buildup over the following weeks. For many of those early begins, the right-hander didn’t even use his full arsenal of pitches, limiting himself to largely fastballs and sweepers as he tried to hone in on his velocity and sharpen his rusty command.

That was in Ohtani in “rehab mode,” as the Dodgers described it.

The precedence remained on defending his surgically-repaired elbow.

But then got here the assembly with the Phillies, in which Ohtani finally seemed prepared to flip the web page.

He accomplished 5 innings for only the second all season. He did so with spectacularly dominant ease over just 68 pitches. He used his full combine, from a fastball that topped at 101.7 mph to a slider that induced a 50% whiff fee to a sinker/cutter/splitter mixture that had the ball darting different instructions to all quadrants of the plate. He collected 5 strikeouts and walked only one.

“He was phenomenal,” Phillies supervisor Rob Thompson recalled. “It was the combination of power, control, command, stuff.”

Three weeks later, Ohtani is set to sq. off against the Phillies again, in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday evening.

And this time, he gained’t be subjected to the workload restrictions that pressured him to make an early exit from that earlier no-hit bid.

The plan, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts said Friday, is to “just treat him like a regular pitcher.”

“This is something we’ve been waiting for all year,” Roberts added, while opening the door for Ohtani to go as many as six or seven innings in what shall be his MLB postseason pitching debut. “He’s ready for this moment. So, for me, I’m just going to sit back and watch closely.”

“I’m sure I’ll be nervous at times,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But more than that, I’m just really grateful that I get to play baseball at this time of the year.”

If it hadn’t been for that September start against the Phillies, it’s unclear if Ohtani could be pitching with such freedom now.

That evening, Roberts eliminated Ohtani from his no-hit bid because, as he put it after the sport, he didn’t really feel comfy deviating from the famous person’s prescripted pitching plan.

What Roberts did do in that sport, however, was ask Ohtani how he felt after the fifth inning to collect info the Dodgers may use going ahead. Ohtani told Roberts he still felt strong. Thus, in his closing common season start a week later in Arizona, the staff allowed him for the first time to pitch into the sixth.

The Dodgers are still attempting to be mindful of Ohtani’s two-way burden. He is beginning Game 1 of this sequence (which shall be adopted by an off day Sunday) because they didn’t need to pitch him early in the wild-card spherical and then have him hit in subsequent days.

But going ahead, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said, the membership plans to use Ohtani like “a normal starting pitcher now.” No more pre-determined restrictions. No more overbearing health issues.

“I’m very glad that I was able to end the rehab progression at that moment,” Ohtani said while reflecting back on the September start that signaled he was prepared. “Just being healthy is really important to me, so I’m just grateful for that.”

Roster and rotation notes

Roberts said, after Ohtani, Blake Snell would possible start Game 2, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow lined up for Games 3 and 4, respectively. Glasnow shall be accessible out of the bullpen for Game 1 as effectively.

Clayton Kershaw shall be on the staff’s NLDS roster, after being left off for the wild-card spherical. Roberts said he’ll pitch in a aid position.

Catcher Will Smith is anticipated to once again be on the roster as one of three catchers, Roberts said, but his availability to start video games stays in query. Though Smith’s fractured proper hand has healed, he’s still in the method of rebuilding strength and stamina after lacking the last few weeks. He was scheduled to take live batting observe during the staff’s Monday workout.