Framber Valdez spun one final curveball and saw Donovan Solano ground it sharply toward center field. Jeremy Peña prevented its passage. The Houston Astros shortstop broke to his left and snagged the ball on a slide.

Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez was scratched about 30 minutes before Thursday's series opener against the Astros.

There is no target date yet for Ohtani's pitching debut with the Dodgers, though expectations are it could come in July.

“Making changes is just different,” Soto said.