PHILADELPHIA — Shohei Ohtani’s throwing program has been taken off pause. But it’s still moving at a slow pace. Ohtani threw a light bullpen session Thursday, then took the mound in the visitor’s bullpen at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday afternoon for a more full session. He threw 26 pitches , including a couple splitters, for the first time this year. But he is not scheduled to “touch” a mound again until Thursday, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, and his next full session isn’t scheduled until next Saturday. The idea is to mirror as closely as possible the schedule Ohtani will have when he returns as a starting pitcher. “I think it’s just more trying to keep him on a similar seven-day program, and what the schedule would look like going out, and build from there,” Roberts said. At a similar point in spring training, pitchers would throw bullpen sessions every two to three days. Ohtani will have to progress through multiple steps before he is ready to pitch in games. “I think that the next phase would be using his entire pitch mix, and then what that would entail, probably like a 30-, 35-pitch bullpen,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of the next step.” At some point after that, Ohtani will have to face hitters in simulated-game settings multiple times. With just one serious throwing session scheduled per week, it seems unlikely Ohtani will pitch in a game before June at the earliest and possibly later. ONLY THE LOSERS Before the first game of this series between the Phillies and Dodgers, Phillies slugger Bryce Harper was asked about the Dodgers’ big-spending ways. “I don’t know if people will like this,” he said. “But I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team. They’re a great organization. That’s why guys want to go over there and play. L.A. is a great city to play in, obviously. They’re the mecca of the world of everything, from food to nightlife to sports, the Dodgers to the Lakers to anybody. “They’re going to continue to get guys. They’re going to continue to pull guys from the sport – bullpen, starting pitching, international players, anything like that.” Before he signed his 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies in 2019, Harper stayed on the free-agent market into the spring. The Dodgers tried to get creative to sign him. They offered him a shorter deal (four years) for a record annual salary ($45 million). Harper chose the Phillies’ longer contract. “I love that,” Roberts said when asked about Harper’s comments Friday. “I guess that’s probably why Bryce is one of my favorite players. I agree.” TAXI TIME Triple-A right-hander Matt Sauer was in Philadelphia with the Dodgers on Saturday. Sauer was on the taxi squad in case another short outing by Roki Sasaki exhausted the bullpen and he was needed on the active roster Sunday. Sasaki pitched into the fifth inning and the Dodgers do not plan to activate Sauer. He will rejoin Oklahoma City, where he made one start and allowed one run in three innings. UP NEXT Dodgers (RHP Tyler Glasnow, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) at Phillies (LHP Christopher Sanchez, 0-0, 1.69 ERA), 10:35 a.m. PT Sunday, SportsNet LA, 570 AM Related Articles Roki Sasaki gives Dodgers better start to beat Phillies Dodgers stifled by Phillies, suffer first loss of season Mookie Betts will join Dodgers teammates for White House visit Subtle change helped Anthony Banda became key cog in Dodgers’ bullpen Alexander: So far, these Dodgers are kings of the rally ...read more read less