Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani made his long-awaited return to the mound on Monday night, throwing one inning against the San Diego Padres (GameTracker). It was Ohtani's first appearance as a pitcher since Aug.

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.

The decision to let Shohei Ohtani start against the San Diego Padres on Monday came after months of close observation and feedback from the Dodgers star.