SAN FRANCISCO — At some point or another, just about anyone who calls themselves a Giants fan has probably fantasized about the prospect of Shohei Ohtani taking the mound at Oracle Park. In those dreams, the modern-day Babe Ruth is wearing orange and black.
Well, it’s happening.
But, wait. This isn’t what you imagined.
“Just for the theatrics of it, in this series, for our fans to be able to see him on the mound, it’ll get everybody’s attention,” manager Bob Melvin said before the Giants hosted their archrivals for the first time this season Friday night.
Less than 24 hours after Melvin’s comments before the first game of their series, Ohtani will stride out of the first-base dugout in gray and blue. It won’t be the first time the two-way star has pitched against the Giants, nor the first time he has taken part in the historic rivalry, but it will mark the first time he has pitched at Oracle Park or against San Francisco as a member of the Dodgers.
“It will be super cool, for sure,” outfielder Heliot Ramos said of the prospect of stepping into the batter’s box against Ohtani for the first time in his career. Ramos is familiar with the damage Ohtani has done at the plate. But, like many of his teammates, he has never faced Ohtani the pitcher.
“He’s a pretty good pitcher. I feel like he’s an even better hitter than he is a pitcher,” Ramos said. “But I can’t wait to see what he brings to the table. It’s something that we’ve never seen basically. I’m very happy I get to be a part of this era of baseball and how important it is.”
Since spurning their free-agent pursuit in the winter of 2023 for a record-setting contract with the Dodgers, the Giants haven’t seen Ohtani at full form, and they will still only get a sliver on Saturday. Recovering from surgery on his throwing elbow, Ohtani didn’t pitch at all during his first season with the Dodgers and hasn’t pitched more than two innings in any of his four starts this season.
Still, he has been about as electric as a pitcher can be while working his way back from Tommy John surgery. He has allowed one run over six innings, issued one walk and fanned six batters. Did we mention he’s throwing harder than ever, reaching a career-best 101.7 mph two outings ago?
“It seems like all the stuff’s there,” third baseman Matt Chapman said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it looks compared to how it’s looked before. But I expect it to be a challenge and to be ready to hit a hard fastball and sharp breaking stuff.”
The Giants have some history with Ohtani, losing both his starts when he was a member of the Angels, including his last start in August 2023 before he blew out his elbow. But they can lean on Chapman — and Melvin — whose A’s were a frequent victim of his pitching and hitting prowess before all three changed teams.
In fact, it was Chapman who victimized Ohtani during his very first major-league start. He homered off him in his first plate appearance and can still remember the pitch.
“It was a slider, a three-run (homer),” Chapman said. “I think I was the first person in the major leagues to homer off of him. That ball went to the Hall of Fame. It’ll probably be one of many things of his that go to the Hall of Fame.”
Only six active players have stepped into the box more times than Chapman, and it’s been a mixed bag since that first at-bat. He added another homer and has reached base six times in 20 career plate appearances — a .300 rate — but Ohtani gave him a personal hat trick in their last meeting, when Chapman was in Toronto.
He struck him out using three different pitches: a sweeper, a splitter and a four-seam fastball.
“Some success,” Chapman said when asked to evaluate the totality of their battles, before taking a pause. “And some not success.”
“I probably played against him as much as anybody, being in his division for so long, (I have) a lot of respect for the player he is,” Chapman added. “He seems like an ultracompetitor. He wants to be out there everyday. He wants to pitch. He wants to do both. … We’ve obviously had our battles, but it’s pretty cool to be able to be a part of that history.”
Rafael Devers, who will get his first taste of the Dodgers rivalry this series, has the next-most experience against Ohtani. He has singled twice and struck out four times in 11 at-bats. In all, the remainder of the Giants’ roster has combined to go 1-for-13 with a pair of walks against him.
The one hit came courtesy of Mike Yastrzemski, whose solo shot at Angel Stadium back in 2021 also represents the only earned run Ohtani has surrendered to the Giants. Melvin managed the A’s to a 7-5 record in their matchups against Ohtani.
The good news? It’s unlikely the Giants will have to worry about him beyond the third inning.
“We’ve just got to feel him out, see if he’s throwing strikes (and) it seems like he has been,” Melvin said. “I’m just glad it’s not going to be eight or nine.”
Devers gets treatment
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Melvin doesn’t believe the back issues that have prevented Devers from playing the field will result in a stint on the injured list, but the Giants’ newly acquired star did get an MRI that showed irritation in a disc in his lower back and prompted the team to prescribe him an anti-inflammatory medication.
The treatment is a new step for Devers, who has been hampered since the Giants traded for him last month. Melvin said was feeling “a little bit better” and, with the upcoming All-Star break, was optimistic the ailment would heal on its own without forcing him out of the lineup.
In other health updates, outfielder Jerar Encarnacion (oblique) ran the bases before the game and will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento after the break. And utility man Christian Koss (hamstring) “will be just a little behind” Encarnacion, Melvin said.