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Ohtani Strikes Out 11 in Final Spring Start as Dodgers Set Early-Season Plan

The Dodgers will start him on pitch limits with a piggyback reliever to protect his workload.

Overview

  • Shohei Ohtani, who made his final spring start Tuesday, struck out 11 Angels through four innings and reached about 79 pitches before leaving after three straight singles in the fifth.
  • Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani is ready to go and added that a full slate of starts would put him in the National League Cy Young conversation.
  • Los Angeles will manage his first outings with strict pitch counts, and Roberts said he will not work into the seventh inning in his season debut.
  • The team plans to use left-hander Justin Wrobleski as a bulk reliever behind Ohtani after Wrobleski retired all 12 batters he faced with five strikeouts over four scoreless innings.
  • Ohtani is returning from a second elbow surgery and prior shoulder work after logging 14 starts and 47 regular-season innings last year before adding more innings in October.