Sho-time at Dodger Stadium as Ohtani makes his long-awaited return to the mound after elbow surgery

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani gave up a pair of two-strike hits and a run in his Los Angeles Dodgers pitching debut against the San Diego Padres on Monday night, 21 months after the two-way superstar had elbow surgery.

Ohtani threw 28 pitches — 16 for strikes — in the first inning as the sellout crowd of 53,207 hung on every one. They oohed when a fastball was clocked at 100.2 mph — the second-hardest pitch thrown by a Dodgers hurler this season.

“I was aiming to sit 95-96," Ohtani said through a translator, “but the game intensity really allowed me to throw a little harder.”

Ohtani said his nerves were "definitely a little bit more than when I was solely a position player.”

After retiring Xander Bogaerts on a grounder for the third out, Ohtani walked over to an umpire who checked his hands and glove. He didn’t enter the dugout. Instead, he put on his batting gloves and other equipment near the railing and walked to the on-deck circle to prepare to lead off the bottom of the first.

Ohtani struck out swinging against Padres starter Dylan Cease, but then tied the score at 1 with a run-scoring double to left-center in the third. The three-time MVP added a two-out RBI single that gave the Dodgers a 5-2 lead in the fourth on the way to a 6-3 victory. He finished 2 for 4 with a walk and two strikeouts at the plate.

Ohtani anticipates pitching once a week going forward.

“But I did hit 100 (mph) today, so I want to see first where my body feels and how it reacts," he said. "But the expectation is for me to go once a week. Hopefully to be able to go a little longer every time I’m out there so that the bullpen won’t be so taxed.”

Ohtani faced Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arráez, Manny Machado, Gavin Sheets and Bogaerts in the first. Tatis flared a single to center field and went to second on Ohtani's wild pitch. Arráez singled and Machado's sacrifice fly scored Tatis. Sheets and Bogaerts grounded out.

“Stuff looked electric,” Dodgers teammate Max Muncy said, “but when you haven’t pitched in that long of a time and you don’t really get a chance to do any rehab games, maybe the command isn’t going to be there and that’s kind of what we saw tonight.”

Anthony Banda replaced Ohtani on the mound in the second.

“I think I got the best seat in the house to watch it and to watch this guy start and then take an at-bat,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “This is bananas. I'm thrilled.”

Major League Baseball made the game available for free on streaming site MLB.tv.

The Japanese right-hander was pitching in a big league game about three weeks after facing hitters in simulated at-bats for the first time. All the while, Ohtani was still wielding his powerful bat in the lineup for the NL West leaders.

“It got to the point where, hey, it feels like we should take that next step and almost look to finish the rehab at the major league level because of the taxing nature of what he was doing,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said.

Typically, pitchers returning from injuries go on minor league rehab assignments, but Ohtani is an exception.

“It’s been really encouraging overall the way he’s bounced back and been able to continue to feel good doing both,” Gomes said.

Gomes acknowledged the team is in a unique situation, trying to balance Ohtani's offensive prowess with his pitching ability while erring on the side of caution.

“We don't know how he's going to come out, if his legs are going to be tired. We have to make sure that we're also keeping one of our best hitters in the lineup,” Gomes said. “It has to be an ongoing conversation and making sure that Shohei is the one driving this conversation.”

Ohtani began the night batting .290 with 25 homers, which led the National League, 41 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in the leadoff spot.

While Ohtani won't be throwing deep into games at first, just his presence on the mound figures to bolster a staff that has been decimated by injuries. The Dodgers have eight starters, including Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, and six relievers on the injured list.

Ohtani is already on the roster as the designated hitter, so the Dodgers are essentially adding an extra pitcher without having to make a corresponding roster move.

Ohtani helped the Dodgers win their eighth World Series title — and his first — last season, the first of a $700 million, 10-year contract. He earned his third MVP award and first in the National League.

He hadn't pitched since 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels. He was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 23 starts that season. His last mound appearance was on Aug. 23, 2023, when he got hurt during an outing against Cincinnati.

Ohtani had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1, 2018, and is recovering from a second major operation on his right elbow Sept. 19, 2023.

“I’m just really grateful," he said. "Reflecting back on all the support that I received from the doctors that operated on me, the support staff, the team and everybody who supported me along the way. I’m just grateful that, aside from the results, to be able to show and be grateful for the moment I had.”

Ohtani's pitching debut for the Dodgers came on the same day his former interpreter reported to federal prison in Pennsylvania. Ippei Mizuhara received a nearly five-year sentence for bank and tax fraud after he stole almost $17 million from Ohtani.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani drives in a run with a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, June 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, June 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts has he bats during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani waves near the mound during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani, right, shakes hands with catcher Will Smith during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, June 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani prepares on base during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.

Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.

By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.

“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”

Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.

It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.

Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.

Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.

“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.

Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.

The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.

Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.

When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.

Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.

“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”

Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.

“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”

And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.

Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.

Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.

While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.

Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.

Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.

“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)