The Los Angeles Dodgers had a minor scare with Shohei Ohtani experiencing left knee inflammation that caused him to be held out for one game against the Chicago White Sox over the weekend.
The two-way superstar responded well to the time off and has been in the lineup for the past four games. However, his starting streak as a designated hitter is ending in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Ohtani is only going to pitch on Wednesday. He shared the news after Ohtani’s solo home run propelled the Dodgers to a 1-0 win.
Although Ohtani is not going to be a full two-way player in the midday game at Dodger Stadium, he’s trending well since experiencing left knee trouble.
“I think we’re certainly mindful that he wants to be out there, he wants to make his start. But again, the catch play, how he feels, the swelling is completely dissipated,” Roberts said. “So those signs right there give us confidence that he’s going to be fine. But yeah, we’ll certainly have a watchful eye, though.”
Ohtani delayed his between-starts bullpen session by one day and did not throw it until Tuesday in order to provide his balky left knee with more time to fully recover.
Ohtani suspects the minor issue may have stemmed from poor pitching mechanics in his previous start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Roberts said he doesn’t believe Ohtani will make any mechanical changes going forward beyond a minor adjustment to keep his front side more open.
“I know a little bit he was talking about closing himself off might have added to the stress on the front knee, so there might be like a little tweak to kind of keep it a little bit more straight or open, I’m not sure,” he said.
“But his mechanics are his mechanics, and I don’t know if something changed in Pittsburgh, which I doubt, but that’s something I kind of heard.”
Shohei Ohtani among Dodgers leading in ASG voting
The first 2026 MLB All-Star Game voting update included Ohtani and three of his Dodgers teammates leading at their respective positions.
MLB All-Star Game voting is completed over two phases, with the first determining which players will advance to the next round before a starter at each position is decided during phase 2.
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