Shohei Ohtani is just five days away from his World Series pitching debut.
The Dodgers plan to stick to their NLCS rotation for the first four games of the upcoming Fall Classic against the Toronto Blue Jays, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported Thursday.
That puts Ohtani on track to return to the mound in front of a home crowd during Game 4 at Dodger Stadium.
Here’s a look at the upcoming World Series schedule and the Dodgers’ probable pitchers based on their NLCS sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Dodgers World Series Probable Starters (First four games, 8 p.m. ET starts)
Friday, Oct. 24, Game 1 in Toronto: Blake Snell
Saturday, Oct. 25, Game 2 in Toronto: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Monday, Oct. 27, Game 3 in Los Angeles: Tyler Glasnow
Tuesday, Oct. 28, Game 4 in Los Angeles: Shohei Ohtani
If necessary: Wednesday, Oct. 29, Game 5 in Los Angeles; Friday, Oct. 31, Game 6 in Toronto; Saturday, Nov. 1, Game 7 in Toronto
After growing into MLB’s premier two-way player with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani’s pitching career was put on hold when he underwent right elbow surgery in 2023.
Ohtani signed with the Dodgers the following offseason and spent the 2024 season exclusively as the club’s designated hitter.
He made both his postseason and World Series debut last fall, during which he batted in 10 postseason RBI and three home runs.
After lifting the 2024 Commissioner’s Trophy and undergoing offseason left shoulder surgery, Ohtani completed his rehabilitation and made his regular-season pitching debut on June 16.
As the Dodgers slowly increased his workload, Ohtani went on to record a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts and 47 regular-season innings pitched.
He then made his postseason pitching debut in Game 1 of the NLDS at the Philadelphia Phillies, when he allowed three hits and three runs through six innings but struck out nine batters in a 5-3 win.
All of that put Ohtani on track to record arguably the most dominant performance in MLB postseason history during Game 4 of the NLCS.
Ohtani helped the Dodgers clinch a second straight trip to the World Series by pitching three shutout innings and hitting three home runs in a 5-1 win over the Brewers last Friday.
Snell may be starting Game 1, but the Dodgers will still be hoping for another big night from Ohtani when he steps back up to the plate to lead off Friday’s first inning.
The Blue Jays are meanwhile turning to Trey Yesavage for the Game 1 start. The 22-year-old is 10 years younger than Snell, and he’s the first rookie to start in a World Series opener since 2006, per The Athletic’s Steve Berman.
Snell and Yesavage are set to face off when the 2025 World Series begins Friday night in Toronto at 8 p.m. ET.
