CHICAGO — And the slow goes on.

Because he was away from the team for the birth of his daughter last weekend, Shohei Ohtani did not throw his weekly bullpen session on Saturday. He resumed his throwing program by playing catch before Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field, will throw a light bullpen session on Wednesday then throw his next full bullpen session on Saturday.

It is the pattern Ohtani’s throwing has settled into since he resumed throwing after taking a month off – light bullpen session on Wednesday, full one on Saturday.

It’s a slow schedule that is not leading to a return to the mound in games any time soon.

“It hasn’t changed,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

“I know it’s leading toward somewhere – him pitching at some point with us. I still don’t know what the next step is. And I think once he starts facing hitters, then it’ll start to become more pronounced. But right now, he’s still in the mode of just throwing bullpens.”

Before facing hitters, Ohtani will have to throw all of his pitches during his bullpen sessions. He has not thrown his slider yet.

During an appearance on “The Jim Rome Show” earlier this week, Roberts said Ohtani was still “a couple of months away” from returning as a pitcher, a timeline that Roberts acknowledged was “vague.” It’s also a timeline that puts Ohtani’s first major-league action as a pitcher since August 2023 much closer to the All-Star break than the May projections Roberts made before the season.

Tuesday, Roberts acknowledged that the current estimate was not a specific return the Dodgers have mapped out but was “more guessing on where he’s at right now.”

While the Dodgers’ aim is to have Ohtani available and at full strength as a pitching option in the postseason, some – including seven-time league MVP Barry Bonds – have suggested Ohtani should not pitch at all.

“Pros and cons – it certainly obviously brings in risk. That’s the con,” Roberts said of the suggestion. “But a guy that has done it, has performed really well as a pitcher, the desire to do that, the talent to do that, and you essentially get two All-Star players in one – so there’s a lot of upside. But I certainly understand peoples’ opinions.”

REHAB PROGRESS

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw made his second rehab start on Tuesday night, this time with Double-A Tulsa. Triple-A Oklahoma City was on the road in Salt Lake City, where bad weather was possible.

Kershaw pitched three scoreless innings in his first rehab start with OKC last week. In Double-A on Tuesday, he gave up a run on two doubles in his first inning. He gave up four hits in all and one walk while striking out four in three innings. Kershaw threw 60 pitches, 33 strikes.

On the 60-day injured list after surgery on his left foot and knee last November, Kershaw is not eligible to return until mid-May.

Right-hander Tony Gonsolin is scheduled to make his fourth and final rehab start with OKC on Wednesday. Gonsolin has allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out 13 in nine innings over his first three rehab outings.

Gonsolin is on track to make his first big-league start since Tommy John surgery early next week during the Dodgers’ homestand against the Pirates and Marlins.

ALSO

The Dodgers are planning a ‘bullpen game’ on Wednesday with an off day on Thursday to recover. …

Roberts said right-hander Tyler Glasnow has had no ill effects since leaving Sunday’s game in the fifth inning with leg cramps. Glasnow is expected to make his next scheduled start on Sunday.

UP NEXT

Dodgers (TBA) at Cubs (LHP Matthew Boyd, 1-2, 2.01 ERA), Wednesday, 4 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM

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TUESDAY’S SCORES

GIRLS BEACH VOLLEYBALL

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

Round 1

DIVISION 2

Notre Dame Academy 4, El Dorado 1

South Torrance 3, Trabuco Hills 2

San Clemente 5, Aquinas 0

St. Margaret’s 4, Palm Desert 1

DIVISION 3

Capistrano Valley 5, Providence 0

Warren 5, Westminster 0

Rosary Academy 3, Western Christian 2

Camarillo 3, Irvine 2

Canyon 5, Schurr 0

Pacifica Christian 4, Montebello 1

Laguna Hills 3, Marymount 2

Bishop Amat 4, Calvary Chapel 1

Costa Mesa 4, St. Bonaventure 1

BASEBALL

SUNSET LEAGUE

Fountain Valley 3, Marina 0

Huntington Beach 4, Newport Harbor 2

TRINITY LEAGUE

Servite 11, Orange Lutheran 4

COAST LEAGUE

Savanna 5, Anaheim 1

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Ocean View 5, Tustin 0

ORANGE LEAGUE

Bolsa Grande 12, Santiago 11

NORTH HILLS LEAGUE

Canyon 11, Crean Lutheran 9

GROVE LEAGUE

Rancho Alamitos 2, Los Amigos 1

SAN JOAQUIN LEAGUE

Southlands Christian 13, Fairmont Prep 3

NONLEAGUE

Adelanto 11, Esperanza 10

BOYS GOLF

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Beckman 191, Trabuco Hills 211

Dove Canyon CC (par 36)

Low round: R. Chang (Beck) 37, J. Chen (Beck) 37

The SoCal Indie Bestsellers List for the sales week ended April 20 is based on reporting from the independent booksellers of Southern California, the California Independent Booksellers Alliance and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.org.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. James: Percival Everett

2. Audition: Katie Kitamura

3. The Wedding People: Alison Espach

4. All Fours: Miranda July

5. Strangers in Time: David Baldacci

6. Say You’ll Remember Me: Abby Jimenez

7. Dream Count: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

8. The God of the Woods: Liz Moore

9. Iron Flame: Rebecca Yarros

10. Broken Country: Clare Leslie Hall

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About: Mel Robbins, Sawyer Robbins

2. Everything Is Tuberculosis (Signed Edition): The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection: John Green

3. Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir: Mark Hoppus, Dan Ozzi

4. Abundance: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson

5. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This: Omar El Akkad

6. How to Work with Complicated People: Strategies for Effective Collaboration with (Nearly) Anyone: Ryan Leak

7. The Creative Act: A Way of Being: Rick Rubin

8. Raising Hare: A Memoir: Chloe Dalton

9. The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward: Melinda French Gates

10. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service: Michael Lewis (Ed.)

MASS MARKET

1. Animal Farm: George Orwell

2. 1984: George Orwell

3. Dune: Frank Herbert

4. The Catcher in the Rye: J.D. Salinger

5. Rich Dad Poor Dad: Robert T. Kiyosaki

6. The Name of the Wind: Patrick Rothfuss

7. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Maya Angelou

8. The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank

9. Mistborn: The Final Empire: Brandon Sanderson

10. Dune Messiah: Frank Herbert

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Martyr!: Kaveh Akbar

2. Demon Copperhead: Barbara Kingsolver

3. Orbital: Samantha Harvey

4. North Woods: Daniel Mason

5. The Ministry of Time: Kaliane Bradley

6. Table for Two: Fictions: Amor Towles

7. Lessons in Chemistry: Bonnie Garmus

8. Wild and Wrangled: Lyla Sage

9. Parable of the Sower: Octavia E. Butler

10. The Husbands: Holly Gramazio

ANAHEIM — Paul Skenes believes he has a special connection with the Angels.

“I like to think I was the reason the Angels won the World Series, because I was born that year,” Skenes said with a smile.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 23-year-old pitching sensation, was enjoying his first day as a major leaguer back at Angel Stadium, where he saw countless games as a young Angels fan.

“I grew up watching (Mike) Trout, (Shohei) Ohtani more recently,” Skenes said on Tuesday. “Erick Aybar. John Lackey. Go through them. It’s cool to be back.”

Skenes said two of the most memorable games he attended were in 2018, when Ohtani was in his first days with the Angels. Skenes said he was at Ohtani’s first home start as a pitcher in April 2018. Ohtani took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in that game against the then-Oakland A’s. Skenes said his family got tickets from A’s third baseman Matt Chapman, who was also a product of El Toro High.

A couple of days later, Skenes returned and saw Ohtani at the plate.

“He hit a ball about 470, over our heads in right field,” Skenes said.

All of this nostalgia would have had even more meaning for Skenes if he were pitching in this series. He’s instead scheduled to pitch on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Angels don’t mind that they’re missing Skenes, who has a 2.87 ERA in his first five starts this season after winning National League Rookie of the Year honors and finishing third in NL Cy Young Award voting with a 1.96 ERA last season.

“If he’s on the rotation to pitch, I’m looking forward to it,” Angels manager Ron Washington said with a chuckle. “He’s not on the rotation to pitch. I’m looking forward to it.”

Skenes has become one of baseball’s biggest stars after playing just one season in the majors. After playing at El Toro, he attended the Air Force Academy and then LSU, before being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

His trip to Angel Stadium allowed him the opportunity to meet a former phenom who was one of his early heroes. Trout made his major league debut when Skenes was 9.

Skenes chatted with Trout during early batting practice on Tuesday.

“It was pretty cool to meet him,” Skenes said. “Got to spend a little bit of time with him.”

By Jessica Damiano | The Associated Press

If you’re gearing up to plant fruits, vegetables or herbs this spring, why not grow some extra to donate to your local soup kitchen or pantry?

The national Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign, launched in 1995, has been encouraging home and community gardeners to do just that every year to help feed neighbors in need of fresh food.

The program was spearheaded in 1995 by Anchorage Daily News garden columnist Jeff Lowenfels, who wrote a column encouraging his readers to plant extra crops and donate their harvests.

After seeing the impact that his column had on local food donations, Lowenfels partnered with GardenComm International, then known as Garden Writers of America, to enlist garden columnists all over the country to promote the cause in their own communities. Since then, more than 20 million pounds of produce, providing more than 80 million meals, have been donated through the campaign by home gardeners.

“All of this has been achieved without government subsidy or bureaucratic red tape — just people helping people,” according to organizers on the campaign’s website. And there’s no big advertising campaign, either — just garden columnists and their readers spreading the word.

If everyone reading this column planted one extra row and donated its harvest, together we could have an impact on hunger.

So what do you say?

To participate, plant an extra row or container (or, if you’re short on space or resources, even just one additional plant) and donate its harvest to your local food pantry, soup kitchen, house of worship or informally to a neighbor who could use it.

If you’d like to help even more, consider starting your own Plant a Row campaign with friends, neighbors or co-workers and plant individually or at the office, in a community garden, school garden, prison garden — whatever garden you have at your disposal.

If you need help getting started, GardenComm.org has posted steps for running your own campaign and a listing of existing campaigns to join in your state and town.

But it’s not necessary to join a group. To find food drop-off sites near you, visit AmpleHarvest.org and plug in your zip code.

Before dropping off food, call the organization to confirm they accept perishables (soup kitchens are generally more likely to have the refrigeration necessary for storage than pantries or food banks, but there may be exceptions).

___

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP.