Shohei Ohtani News: Pushes workload to two frames

Ohtani allowed one hit and issued one walk while striking out one batter over two scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Royals on Saturday. He also went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as a batter.

While Ohtani didn't have his highest pitch count of the campaign -- his 27 pitches Saturday were one fewer than he accumulated during his season debut on the mound June 16 -- he took another step forward by tossing more than one inning for the first time as a Dodger. The two-way star also made a strong statement about how far he's come in his recovery from Tommy John surgery by pumping in a 101.7 mph fastball -- the fastest of his career. Ohtani now was three starts under his belt as a pitcher this season, allowing one run on three hits with a 3:1 K:BB over four innings. He'll likely continue to build up gradually, so fantasy managers should still view him as an opener during his turns in the rotation until he gets a longer leash to pitch deeper into games.