'I watched Shohei Ohtani pitch for the first time in nearly two years — he hasn't missed a beat'

Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani made his highly-anticipated return to the mound prior to Sunday's game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets at Citi Field

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Shohei Ohtani made his highly-anticipated return to the mound ahead of Sunday’s game against the New York Mets — and the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar doesn’t seem to have missed a beat.

At around 2:30 p.m. ET, Ohtani trotted onto the diamond at Citi Field to throw a live batting practice. The simulated inning marked the first time he’s faced hitters since undergoing right elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023.

In his first at-bat of the afternoon, Ohtani induced a weak grounder back to the mound off the bat of second baseman Hyeseong Kim. After reaching down to snag the ball, he jokingly faked a throw to first base, which was unoccupied by a fielder.

Dodgers game planning and communication coach JT Watkins was next to step into the batter’s box, with Ohtani swiftly setting him down on four pitches. Upon inducing a final swing-and-miss on an unhittable breaking ball, the 30-year-old emphatically mimicked an umpire strikeout signal to his teammates and coaches gathered behind the plate and second base.

Catcher Dalton Rushing suffered a similar fate, going down on five pitches — the last of which was a strikeout-inducing splitter. “His stuff was electric. Sho looked like Sho,” he told reporters.

“It was pretty special. I got to finally see what it looks like in a box, how I match up to it. I hope I never have to face Shohei for as long as I’m in the big leagues.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Ohtani, however. In his second faceoff versus Kim, he surrendered a line-drive double to right field. The flamethrowing ace quickly made his case for why it should’ve only been carded as a single, jokingly shouting at outfielder Teoscar Hernandez to ask if he would’ve gotten to it in time.

Watkins induced a walk in the final at-bat of the session and hilariously flipped his bat upon getting the better of Ohtani.

When the dust had finally settled on Ohtani’s outing, he recorded two strikeouts, one walk and a double while tossing 23 pitches over five at-bats.

Sunday’s live batting practice marked a major step in the right direction for Ohtani, who hasn’t pitched in a major league game since Aug. 23, 2023 while he was still with the Los Angeles Angels.

Given his lengthy pitching hiatus, players from both sides were relishing the chance to see him take the mound.

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“It was on the schedule so about half our team was probably out there, if not most of them,” Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott told Mirror U.S. Sports. “It’s Shohei Ohtani. He’s pretty good.”

Starting pitcher Griffin Canning also watched on from the Mets dugout. He and Ohtani were teammates for four years on the Angels and have remained friendly since going their separate ways.

“From playing with him I just wanted to see how he’s doing,” Canning said. “It looked good, he looks healthy. So I think that’s all that mattered.

“Obviously the first time getting on there and facing hitters is gonna be a little tough, but he looks healthy, looks strong.”

Though the Dodgers have yet to publicly share a target date for Ohtani’s pitching debut this season, what’s certain is that his return to the mound is great for baseball.