The local protests have been pushed back in the LA news with Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound tonight for the first time since 2023 and first-ever time as a Dodger. Though, pitching-wise tonight, Dave Roberts is likely to treat Ohtani more like an opener, with one inning, two innings max; make no mistake, this is a bullpen game for the Dodgers, exposing what has been an occasional weak link. The Padres recovered on Sunday in Phoenix after their ninth-inning meltdown on Saturday night, and Dylan Cease is off of a superb start last Tuesday against this same LA, allowing no runs and just 3 hits in 7 IP plus 11 Ks in an 11-1 SD win. Play Padres on the Money Line.

Shohei Ohtani will return to the pitcher's mound, but he's not expected to throw more than two innings. With Ohtani in the "opener" role, the Padres have an edge behind Dylan Cease. He has a 30 percent strikeout rate and an expected ERA of 3.60, below his actual ERA of 4.28. Last Tuesday, Cease blanked the Dodgers over seven innings. Back San Diego to at least be tied through five.

Shohei Ohtani only threw 44 pitches over three innings in his last simulated game and my hunch is the Dodgers limit him to something like 50 pitches at most (it might be lower). I also don't think he'll have trouble getting one strikeout per inning for two innings or something similar. I'm comfortable with the over here and love the plus money on it.