The Los Angeles Dodgers meticulously planned Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound this season and have operated in similar fashion when mapping out his starts.

Some of that was a matter of circumstance, as Ohtani was pushed back from a scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates because he contracted a cold. The initial plan was for the right-hander to pitch at some point during the Dodgers’ series with the Baltimore Orioles.

But that was quickly changed as the Dodgers sought to give Ohtani more time to recover, and he was then slated to not pitch until the team’s short homestand. However, Tyler Glasnow being scratched last Friday because of back tightness wound up resulting in Ohtani starting earlier than expected.

He threw 70 pitches over 3.2 innings and didn’t allow a run during a no-decision of an eventual 2-1 Dodgers’ walk-off loss.

That left Ohtani lined up to pitch again this weekend, presumably Friday, in the series opener at Oracle Park. But the Dodgers have decided Ohtani’s next start will not come against the San Francisco Giants.

When is Shohei Ohtani’s next start?

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not yet set the date for Ohtani’s next pitching start, but did note it would come during their series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“We just felt that there was the sickness, we moved him up, so just to give a little extra rest on the backend of that last start,” Roberts explained.

The most probable date appears to be Monday, as it would line up Ohtani to make another start on Sept. 21. That date is notable in that the Dodgers’ final off day of the regular season is Sept. 22.

During August, the Dodgers had Ohtani make three starts the game before an off day to better maximize an opportunity to rest and recover. In the one case where a game followed his outing as a pitcher, the Dodgers held Ohtani out of the lineup on Aug. 21.

That was pre-planned heading into his start at Coors Field, but wound up being all the more prudent as he was hit in the thigh by a comebacker.

Dodgers pitchers for Giants series

With Ohtani removed from the equation, Dodgers probables for this weekend are Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow.

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