It was an occasion they’d been waiting on for more than 18 months: Shohei Ohtani pitching in a Dodger uniform.

It had been 663 days between pitching appearances, depriving baseball fans of the famed wicked four-seam fastball and splitter that they have marveled at from the sport’s most unique player.

The last time Shohei Ohtani took the mound was in August of 2023 when he was still playing for the Los Angeles Angels.