Shohei Ohtani is set to play as a Dodger at Dodger Stadium for the first time Sunday when the team faces the Angels to begin the three-game Freeway Series.
Ohtani will bat in his customary second spot.
This will be the second time Ohtani will face the team he spent his first six seasons in the major leagues with before the Dodgers signed him to the largest contract in professional sports history. He was hitless in three at-bats, striking out twice, in a 4-0 loss March 5 in a spring-training game in Glendale, Arizona.
Ohtani is 11-for-22 in eight spring training games for a .500 average, with two home runs and nine RBI. He was 3-for-10 with two RBI as the Dodgers split the two-game Seoul Series against the San Diego Padres last week in Seoul, South Korea.
Ohtani is set to talk with reporters Monday for the first time since the Dodgers fired his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara amid allegations that Mizuhara stole millions of dollars from the Japanese slugger to place bets with a purported illegal bookmaker.
“I think it’s good,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s forthcoming media availability — which the manager insisted was entirely the two-way star’s decision. “I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m happy he’s going to speak, speak to what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation. I think it’ll give us a little bit more clarity.”
The three-game Freeway Series of exhibition games will be the first time the Dodgers and Angels will play in Southern California in 2024.
Bobby Miller will pitch for the Dodgers, facing fellow right-hander Griffin Canning.
Miller, who will turn 25 on April 5, was not on the 26-player roster for the Seoul Series. He is 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA in 8 1/3 innings in three spring training starts. He was 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 22 starts as a rookie in 2023.
Michael Grove, Evan Phillips, Ryan Brasier and Alex Vesia are also set to pitch for the Dodgers.
The 27-year-old Canning is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings in four spring training starts. The former Santa Margarita Catholic High School and UCLA standout was 7-8 with a 4.32 ERA in 24 appearances, including 22 starts, in 2023.
The Angels are 13-14-2 in spring training play, while the Dodgers are 13-5-1.
The Dodgers’ broadcast of the 4:10 p.m. game will be on SportsNet LA while the Angels broadcast will be on Bally Sports West. The game will be on MLB.TV as part of its annual free preview, available to anyone with an MLB.com account.
The final two games of the Freeway Series will be played Monday at Dodger Stadium and Tuesday at Angel Stadium.
The Angels lead the series that began in 1962, 75-56, with five games ending in ties. The Angels won two of the three games in 2023 with the home team winning each game.
Spring training games that are tied after nine innings are customarily called once the day’s scheduled pitchers have been used.
The Dodgers will play their regular season home opener Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers were 100-62 in 2023 and won the NL West for the 10th time in 11 seasons. But they lost their first postseason series for a second consecutive season — getting swept in three games by the Arizona Diamondbacks in an NL Division Series.
The Angels will open the regular season Thursday at Baltimore with left-hander Patrick Sandoval making his first career start.
The Angels failed to qualify for the postseason for the ninth consecutive season, finishing fourth in the five-team American League West with a 73-89 record, 17 games behind the division-winning Houston Astros and 14 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the race for the American League’s third and final wild-card playoff berth.