Will Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Pitch Vs. Royals On Saturday? Dave Roberts Updates

Is Kansas City the next stop on Ohtani's return tour?

Jun 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two‑way player Shohei Ohtani (17) pitches the ball during the first inning against Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to Kauffman Stadium for a three-game set this weekend, and that means Kansas City residents will get a good look at Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani faced the Royals in Kansas City every year when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels, but it means something different when he's a part of the defending World Series champions. And after he was a designated hitter only when the Royals visited LA last season, he's now back to pitching as well.

The last time Ohtani pitched was on Sunday against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium. That leaves the door open for him to pitch on Saturday, in game two of the three-game set at Kauffman Stadium.

But although Royals fans might like to know now if they should expect to see Ohtani take the mound against their favorite team, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is keeping things under wraps for now.

"We'll see. We'll see," Roberts said, per the Associated Press. "I've got to make sure I keep it open-ended."

Ohtani allowed an earned run and two hits in his first pitching appearance of the season, but bounced back against the Nationals to throw a scoreless inning and recorded his first two strikeouts. Until further notice, it's safe to assume he'd still only be pitching one inning against the Royals.

Either way, Ohtani will be in the leadoff spot in the order, and that's not a great sign for Kansas City. He's batted .359 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI in his 27 career games against the Royals.

First things first: the Royals have to finish up their series against the Tampa Bay Rays, which began with an ugly 5-1 loss on Tuesday. But it's hard not to look ahead to Ohtani and the rest of the boys in Dodger blue.

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