On Monday evening, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 6-2 to push their record to an impressive 44-29. The big storyline of this game was the return of Shohei Ohtani to the pitching mound, where he hadn't been since the 2023 season when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

It wasn't exactly a great pitching debut for Ohtani, who only pitched one inning and gave up two hits and one earned run.

Still, there was plenty of anticipation for the moment inside Dodger Stadium, which evidently trickled out to the television markets as well.

“Monday night's NL West showdown between the Padres
and Dodgers marked the most-watched game in MLBTV history, with viewership eclipsing the previous single-game high by 28%,” reported MLB Communications on X, formerly Twitter.

Shohei Ohtani has long since established himself as the biggest star in the current MLB landscape, thanks in no small part to his large contingent of international fans as well as his growing celebrity in the United States.

A large part of the reason that Ohtani captivated baseball fans in the first place was his ability to be a star both at the plate and on the mound, and Dodgers fans got their first glimpse of him in the latter department on Monday night.

A big moment for the Dodgers

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The Dodgers have dealt with several injuries to their pitching staff so far this year, including offseason acquitions Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, among others.

Still, the team has used its superior depth and talent to cruise to its current standing at first place in the NL West, two games above the San Francisco Giants.

It remains to be seen what approach the Dodgers will take at the upcoming MLB trade deadline. It's possible that the amount of injuries the team has sustained, along with the obvious rust that Ohtani will have to overcome in the pitching department, could motivate them to add one more starting-caliber pitcher to their rotation.

In any case, the Dodgers will resume their series against the Padres on Tuesday evening.