Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani threw the fastest pitch of his career on Saturday, firing a fastball that hit 101.7 miles per hour (163.7 kilometers per hour) on the radar gun in the first inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 9-5 loss to the Royals in Kansas City.

Ohtani pitched two innings for the first time since he returned to the mound earlier this month after a near two-year absence from pitching in the wake of elbow surgery.

With one out in the first he gave up a line drive single to Bobby Witt Jr. then walked Maikel Garcia.

Ohtani then went up two strikes against Vinnie Pasquantino — on a 99.2 mph fastball and a 100.2 mph fastball. Pasquantino then grounded into a double play off Ohtani's blistering 101.7 mph four-seam fastball — the fastest pitch by a Dodgers hurler this year.

Ohtani retired three straight batters in the second and finished with 27 pitches, 20 of them strikes.

At the plate, Ohtani finished the day without a hit in four at-bats.

Ohtani, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, returned to the mound this month for the first time since August 2023 — when he tore elbow ligaments pitching for the Los Angeles Angels.

He has starred with his bat since joining the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million contract in December 2023, but the team has taken a cautious approach to his return to the mound.

He has now pitched four innings in three outings this season, with Saturday's start being his first on the road.

The Royals bats had more success once Ohtani left.

Pasquantino led Kansas City with a three-run homer and five RBIs, while Witt Jr. and Jonathan India each had four hits for the Royals, who scored one more run than they did while losing their previous six games overall.

Meanwhile, Royals pitcher Seth Lugo (5-5) allowed four hits and five walks while striking out eight over 5⅔ scoreless innings. Daniel Lynch IV yielded a solo homer to Freddie Freeman, who had three hits, in the seventh, but the potent Dodgers did not threaten until a four-run ninth.