The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani delivers a pitch against the San Diego Padres in Los Angeles on Monday. (AP photo)

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani gave up a pair of two-strike hits and a run in his Los Angeles Dodgers pitching debut against the San Diego Padres on Monday night, 21 months after the two-way superstar had elbow surgery.

Ohtani threw 28 pitches — 16 for strikes — in the first inning as the sellout crowd of 53,207 hung on every one. They oohed when a fastball was clocked at 100.2 mph — the second-hardest pitch thrown by a Dodgers hurler this season.

“I was aiming to sit 95-96,” Ohtani said through a translator, “but the game intensity really allowed me to throw a little harder.”

Ohtani said his nerves were “definitely a little bit more than when I was solely a position player.”

After retiring Xander Bogaerts on a grounder for the third out, Ohtani walked over to an umpire who checked his hands and glove. He didn’t enter the dugout. Instead, he put on his batting gloves and other equipment near the railing and walked to the on-deck circle to prepare to lead off the bottom of the first.

Ohtani struck out swinging against Padres starter Dylan Cease, but then tied the score at 1 with a run-scoring double to left-center in the third. The three-time MVP added a two-out RBI single that gave the Dodgers a 5-2 lead in the fourth on the way to a 6-3 victory. He finished 2 for 4 with a walk and two strikeouts at the plate.

Ohtani anticipates pitching once a week going forward.

“Stuff looked electric,” Dodgers teammate Max Muncy said, “but when you haven’t pitched in that long of a time and you don’t really get a chance to do any rehab games, maybe the command isn’t going to be there and that’s kind of what we saw tonight.”

Anthony Banda replaced Ohtani on the mound in the second.

“I think I got the best seat in the house to watch it and to watch this guy start and then take an at-bat,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “This is bananas. I’m thrilled.”

The Japanese right-hander was pitching in a big league game about three weeks after facing hitters in simulated at-bats for the first time. All the while, Ohtani was still wielding his powerful bat in the lineup for the NL West leaders.

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