LOS ANGELES — It’s Sho time.

Shohei Ohtani will make his return to the mound tonight against the visiting San Diego Padres after facing hitters in live batting practice just three times in about three weeks. He will start the game but pitch only an inning or two before right-hander Ben Casparius takes over from there.

“He’s ready to pitch in a major league game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He let us know that.”

The plan was for Ohtani to throw another live batting practice session this week but Roberts said Ohtani was “getting antsy” and lobbied to turn that live BP session into a short stint in a real game. Continuing the sessions against minor league hitters had reached a point of “diminishing returns,” he said.

“That’s kind of how it went, yeah,” Roberts said. “Just kind of talking to Mark (Prior) and Andrew (Friedman) and the doctors and medical (staff) and (Ohtani) just kind of saying, ‘OK, we’ve done the three-inning live, it’s a little taxing or more taxing on my body.’”

This will be Ohtani’s first appearance as a pitcher since he was pulled in the second inning of the Angels’ game against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 23, 2023. He had a second elbow surgery about a month later.

He began his buildup as a pitcher last March and the Dodgers slow-played it, not wanting to risk anything that would take him out of the lineup as a hitter. He started throwing bullpen sessions late in the 2024 season but stopped during the Dodgers’ postseason run.

He was on a mound again during spring training and was throwing 95 mph in bullpen sessions. But the Dodgers again chose to slow things down. He faced hitters for the first time in a simulated game on May 25 then repeated it two more times, building up to three innings and 44 pitches last Tuesday.

“The live, simulated, or whatever, sort of ran its course,” Roberts said Sunday.

“It’s very exciting. For me, I’m still a baseball fan first. I really am. And the anticipation here for the game is, man, it’s going to be bananas when it happens. There’s been a lot of anticipation. I think we’ve done it the right way”

Roberts said Ohtani will throw “probably an inning to start” and add to that each time out, most likely once a week up to the All-Star break. The change in plans allows the Dodgers to take advantage of Ohtani’s readiness in short bursts rather than waiting for “a typical starting pitcher ramp up” that would take longer.

“A week ago, we were talking about another live (batting practice) and potentially getting to four innings,” Roberts said. “But the conversations, the confidence that he has, it’s time to go.”

SASAKI SETBACK

Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old right-hander, has stopped throwing and there is no timetable for him to resume his throwing program, let alone return to the mound. The latest setback puts his availability for the rest of this season in question.

“I think that’s fair,” Roberts said before Sunday’s game. “Being thrust here, into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him. And then now you layer in the health part of it, and then you layer he’s a starting pitcher, the buildup, what that entails — I think that that’s the prudent way to go about it.

“Whatever we get from him … I think, yeah, the mindset should be we got to plan on life without him, as far as this year. I think that’s a fair way to think about it.”

Much-hyped and pursued by multiple MLB teams when he decided to leave Japan for the United States this winter, Sasaki signed with the Dodgers but was quickly labeled “a work in progress,” tamping down expectations. He made eight starts for the Dodgers, going 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA and flashing neither the 100 mph fastball nor the devastating splitter he was billed as having.

He went on the IL with a shoulder impingement in mid-May. Sasaki also dealt with shoulder issues in Japan last season, causing him to miss time. He started a throwing program at the beginning of June but never advanced past “light catch” before stopping indefinitely this week and receiving a cortisone injection.

“He’s just not feeling that he can kind of ramp it up,” Roberts said Sunday. “Right now it’s kind of a comfort thing for him and a confidence thing.”

Sasaki was said to be pain-free when he started his throwing program.