LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher, is inching closer to a return for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani, who has not pitched in a major-league game since July 3 while managing left knee soreness and a couple of flare-ups of right biceps discomfort, threw his first bullpen session in 23 days Friday under the watchful eye of front-office personnel.The Dodgers have not put a firm timeline on Ohtani’s return, which is complicated somewhat by his continued presence as the team’s designated hitter. But Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said he still believes Ohtani could return and pitch in a big-league game before the end of the regular season.“A lot of it, we just need to take our time and see if he comes in feeling good tomorrow, and then OK, what’s the next step?” Gomes told The Athletic following Ohtani’s bullpen session. “A lot of it is just how he’s bouncing back, and do we think it’s prudent to keep progressing?”Andrew Friedman on how the Tarik Skubal trade came togetherJayson StarkOhtani has already tried ramping up and suffered a setback. First, he tried pitching through the discomfort and underwent a “lubricant” injection in his left knee during the All-Star break. He threw a bullpen session a week later on July 22 in Philadelphia, but felt some regression in his knee along with biceps discomfort, which prompted the club to dial things back. It was his last time seen throwing on the field until last Saturday, when Ohtani threw in the outfield at Chase Field before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.Ohtani has since played catch Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon. When his throwing ramped up Friday, he walked into the bullpen and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman followed.