Dodgers' conservative Shohei Ohtani usage lines him up to pitch against perfect opponent

Shohei Ohtani is one of many Dodgers hitters who have gotten off to a slow start this season. He's hitting .167 with a .590 OPS — just three hits, all singles — and on Wednesday he took a rare batting practice after going hitless in LA's series finale against the Guardians.

But Shohei Ohtani, the hitter, is a different beast altogether from Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher. And pitcher Ohtani looked dialed.

He threw his first start of the season in their second game against Cleveland and went scoreless through six innings. He gave up one hit, hit a batter, and gave up three walks while striking out six in the game that saved LA from being swept.

While the Dodgers are committed to getting Ohtani regular starts, that's come with some caveats. "Regular" will mean something different for him than it does for anyone else in the rotation. Would it mean a lower pitch count? More days off in between?

He got up to nearly 90 pitches in his season debut, so it's not the former, and the Dodgers confirmed after the game that he would be getting six days between starts instead of five.

Nothing's finalized yet, but the math checks out: six days' rest lines Ohtani up to make his next appearance versus the Blue Jays on April 6.

Shohei Ohtani (the pitcher) might face the perfect opponent in Dodgers' upcoming east coast road trip

If it happens, everyone involved will be looking for some kind of retribution. Of course, the Blue Jays were the big losers of last year's World Series and are sure to provide the most inhospitable environment they possibly can upon the Dodgers' arrival to Rogers Centre. But Ohtani also didn't pitch very well in either of his Fall Classic starts against them.

He gave up four runs in six innings in Game 4, including a two-run homer for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and he only lasted 2 1/3 in Game 7, after giving up a three-run homer to Bo Bichette.

But Ohtani already looks sharper this season. Last year was a glorified rehab assignment on the biggest stage possible; this year is full-send.

Do we think that Blue Jays fans will bring back the "we don't need you" chants, even though manager John Schneider was telling anyone who would listen that Toronto was too afraid to pitch to Ohtani? They embarrassed themselves last time, so hopefully they've wised up by now.