The Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off a World Series rematch against the New York Yankees with a 8-5 win on Friday night. Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani traded home runs in the first inning, but the reining National League MVP had the last laugh with a second solo shot in the sixth. That isn't the only good news that Ohtani gave Dave Roberts, though. With Blake Snell's return on the horizon, Ohtani hit another milestone in his Tommy John recovery.

Ohtani needed 29 pitches to get through two simulated innings on Saturday before the second game of the Yankees series, according to ESPN's Jorge Castillo. That is up from 22 last weekend, but it is a great sign for Roberts and Los Angeles.

The Dodgers have been ultra-careful with Ohtani's recovery, choosing not to rush him back onto the mound. Despite an abnormally high number of injuries to Roberts' starting rotation, he has stayed true to the plan. It appears to be paying off, even if Ohtani's first Dodgers start is still weeks away.

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While the team continues to win without them, Los Angeles would love to have both Ohtani and Snell back soon. Fans anticipated that they would give the Dodgers one of the top pitching pairings in recent Major League Baseball history.

Instead, it has been Yoshinobu Yamamoto who has stepped up for Los Angeles. He is squarely in the NL Cy Young race, dominating in almost all of his starts so far. He will face Judge and New York in the series finale on Sunday. However, if Ohtani and the Dodgers offense give him eight runs in support, Los Angeles feels good about its odds.

Ohtani's journey back to pitching is one of the biggest stories of the season. When he does finally take the mound, all eyes will be on him, even more so than normal. For now, Ohtani continues to show good signs during his recovery, an encouraging sights for fans all over the baseball world.