The Minnesota Twins are scheduled to begin a three-game series against the defending world champion Los Angeles Dodgers at 9:10 p.m. CT on Monday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
For a team with a below-.500 win-loss record like Minnesota, facing Los Angeles, which currently has a 3 ½ game lead over the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West with a 58-42 win-loss record, is always a daunting task. To make matters even worse for the Twins, who could start a trade deadline sell-off at any moment, they will face a formidable opponent on the mound in the opening game of the three-game set.
Twins unluckily set to face three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani in full form
Ohtani will make the start on the mound for the Dodgers on Monday, with David Festa slated to make the start for the Twins. Ohtani didn’t pitch at all last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2023. Despite this, he ended up unanimously winning the National League MVP Award after posting 9.2 bWAR with a 1.036 OPS.
With how good Ohtani is offensively, it’s easy to forget how dominant he is as a pitcher as well. In 490 ⅔ career innings, Ohtani has a 2.97 ERA with 618 strikeouts. In 2022, as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani posted a 2.33 ERA with 219 strikeouts in 166 innings en route to finishing fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
Because he is a staple in the Dodgers’ lineup, Ohtani has not been able to begin a regular rehab assignment to return to the mound. Instead, Ohtani has been starting games on the mound for Los Angeles with limited pitch counts until he is fully ready to pitch deeper into games. He made his first start since 2023 on June 16, allowing one run in one inning of work. He has not allowed a run since then, throwing one scoreless inning against the San Diego Padres on June 22, two against the Washington Nationals on June 28, two against the Houston Astros on July 5 and three against the San Francisco Giants on July 12. In his nine innings of work this season, Ohtani has struck out 10 batters and allowed five hits and two walks.
The good news for Twins fans is that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani will pitch just three innings on Monday before handing the ball over to Dustin May.