Ohtani's protection decree is issued! Hit in 4 consecutive games, but pitching is too much→Rehabilitation suspended until Tokyo Series
Mar 07, 2025
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Ohtani played as a leadoff designated hitter in an exhibition game against the Texas Rangers at Glendale Camelback Ranch in Arizona on the 7th (Korea time) and scored two hits and one point in four at-bats.
Ohtani, who made his first multi-hit in his fourth exhibition game, hit .417 (5 hits in 12 at-bats), one homer, one RBI, two runs scored, and marked an OPS of 1.167. In addition, since his first appearance in an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels on the 1st, he has continued his hit streak for four consecutive games.
Ohtani hit a light double in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning. Against Texas right-hander David Buchanan, he pushed a 90.4 mile four-seam fastball that flew outside for the fifth time on the ball count 2B2S to hit a line drive hit that landed on the left-field line and settled on second base.
It was a hard hit with a batting speed of 100.6 miles.
Buchanan is a former KBO ace who won 54 games for the Samsung Lions for four years from 2020 to 2023 and joined Texas last winter after pitching in the minor leagues under the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds last year and is participating in spring training. He has allowed four hits and four runs in one ⅓ inning in two games so far. In other words, he had a good bitter taste in his first face-off with Ohtani.
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Ohtani, who was the leadoff hitter in the third inning and was out on a fly to left field, hit a grounder to the second base in the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on first base.
However, Ohtani completed a multi-hit by hitting a hit in the fourth at-bat in the sixth inning with a 6-2 lead. Left-hander Walter Pennington's 91-mile fastball in the middle of the second pitch made a clean hit that landed in the middle of left field. It was a hard hit straight hit that flew at 13 degrees and a batting speed of 106.6 miles. Ohtani was then replaced by pinch runner Alex Freeland and finished the day.
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Ohtani conducted bullpen pitching four times during spring training, the last time was on the 26th of last month. Since then, he has been warming up his shoulders and elbows to the point of catching.
Manager Dave Roberts said, `As the intensity of the game is increasing and Ohtani's game play is getting stronger, I'm trying to slow down my pitching rehabilitation and catch my breath for a while"I don't have a fixed time. It is judged that it is not wise to continue bullpen pitching by playing the game as a designated hitter. That's why I want to slow down a little bit."
First of all, Ohtani will play in consecutive exhibition games against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cleveland Guardians on the 11th and 12th, the last exhibition games before moving to Japan.
As Ohtani's pitching rehabilitation has been put on hold, attention is also being paid to whether the timing of his return will be delayed after May. Roberts said of the timing of Ohtani's return around the opening of the spring training `May is the tentative goal, but it could be faster. He said it depends on how he feels in the first bullpen session of the camp.
When Ohtani returns from the Tokyo Series, he has to start pitching rehabilitation in earnest, but it is not known at the moment at what point he will pitch as good as the actual game. Rather than going down to the minor leagues and throwing, it is highly likely to move with the team and replace it with simulation pitching. Since the rehabilitation of a combined pitching player like Ohtani is unprecedented, the Dodgers are in a position to control the speed of rehabilitation by looking at Ohtani's physical condition.
Roberts tries to set the timing of his return wider. I don't know at the moment. We will know if he is ready and the process is progressing and progress is made. However, I do not want to specify the extent to which expectations about Ohtani should be raised.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
