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 fans hung on every one of them. They oohed when a fastball was clocked at 100.2 mph – the second-hardest pitch thrown by a Dodgers hurler this season.

Ohtani appeared to be laboring on the mound, his face sweaty. He warmed up to his usual music, Michael Bublé’s version of Feeling Good.

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 inning.

Ohtani struck out swinging against Padres starter Dylan Cease, but then tied the score at 1 with an RBI double to left-center in the third.

“He’s ready, he’s adamant, he feels good, strong, ready to pitch a major league game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “I think everyone in that clubhouse, I think the fans, media, we’ve been waiting for this moment.”

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.

That was it for Ohtani on the mound. Anthony Banda replaced him 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,” Roberts said. “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.

Roberts said: “You’ve got to hear the player and trust the player.”

Roberts briefly considered not having Ohtani bat leadoff, but the slugger assured his manager he was fine with it.

“It could change going forward,” Roberts said, “but right now he feels very comfortable with taking the mound and coming in the dugout and getting on his stuff to go take an at-bat.”

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.”

The three-time MVP 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.

Roberts said he and the coaches would watch Ohtani’s command, delivery, and ability to repeat his mechanics.

“Like he always does, he’s going to give everything he has and we expect a high-quality outing,” Gomes said.

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.

“It’s not going to be a once-every-five-day situation, so there’s going to be plenty of time to recover,” Roberts said. “We also have the luxury of pitching him as much as we want as far as in a particular outing.”

Ohtani helped the Dodgers win their eighth World Series title – and his first – last season, the first of a $700m, 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 1 October 2018, and is recovering from a second major operation on his right elbow 19 September 2023.

As a pitcher, he entered 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings during his major league career.

“The main goal is obviously to have him strong down the stretch run and through October,” Gomes said.