The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to have Shohei Ohtani make his next pitching start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, July 8. Manager Dave Roberts shared the update with media at Yankee Stadium.
The outing is going to be Ohtani’s 15th start of the season, which is going to mark his most in a single year with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers went into the All-Star break with Ohtani unavailable to pitch due to lingering irritation in his left knee. Ohtani was scratched from a scheduled start on July 10 and planned to have his left knee drained this past Sunday but instead received a lubricant injection.
He nonetheless missed the 2026 MLB All-Star Game as a result of the planned treatment.
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Dodgers set their starting rotation as Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the weekend series against the New York Yankees. That was the first clue the earliest Ohtani would pitch was in their matchup with the Phillies.
Lining it up for July 8 mirrors how the Dodgers often approached Ohtani’s pitching starts last season and for most of this year as it leads into an off day on their schedule.
The outing is going to be Ohtani’s first since throwing a season-high 110 pitches against the San Diego Padres on July 3. He completed at least six innings for a sixth consecutive start but also gave up a minimum of three runs for a second time in the last four games.
Some of Ohtani’s recent regression, which has led to seemingly falling out of the Cy Young Award race, has been attributed to not only the left knee issue but also a blister on the middle finger of his right hand. Ohtani additionally dealt with discomfort in his right bicep, though maintained it only affected him when swinging.
“I see the overall wear and tear. What’s been happening over the course of this year, I believe it’s more of a wear and tear,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But in terms of the knee, I think it’s more of my pitching mechanics. So that’s something I need to work on.”
Conversely, Ohtani has admitted his knee injury impacts pitching rather than hitting. He’s also wondered if the operation in 2019 to repair a bipartite patella in his left knee has contributed to the latest trouble. Though, that surgery was necessary to correct a congenital condition that occurs when the two bones of the kneecap did not fuse together at birth.
Shohei Ohtani’s next start
Ohtani’s pitching start at Citizens Bank Park is going to be his first time back since the 2025 National League Division Series.
Ohtani started Game 1 and allowed three runs over six innings in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win.
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