When the Los Angeles Dodgers announced their pitching probables coming out of the All-Star break, Shohei Ohtani was not included for the matchup with the New York Yankees.
Manager Dave Roberts said before Friday’s game that Ohtani, who received an Orthovisc injection in his left knee, was lined up to face the Philadelphia Phillies on July 22. However, that no longer is the case.
According to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, Roberts revealed Ohtani is still experiencing trouble with his left knee and has been scratched from that scheduled start at Citizens Bank Park.
Shohei Ohtani won’t start as scheduled Wednesday, Dave Roberts said. The knee irritation that occurs while pitching is still there.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 19, 2026
The Dodgers at this point don’t have a target date for Ohtani to take the mound. He last pitched on July 3, completing six innings against the San Diego Padres.
When the Dodgers penciled in Ohtani to face the Phillies, they strategically had slotted him sixth in their rotation order to provide more rest for his balky knee and lined up the outing leading into an off day in their schedule. The team had previously shown a preference to have Ohtani pitch before a day off in the past as a means of managing his workload.
The first sign of continued trouble came after it was announced the Dodgers and Yankees would play a split doubleheader. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named the starter for the early game on Sunday, but the Dodgers did not announce a pitcher for the nightcap.
That easily could have been Emmet Sheehan, who instead is being pushed back to Monday because the Dodgers have to account for Ohtani no longer being slated to take the mound. L.A. is likely to utilize a bullpen game in the Sunday night matchup with New York.
Meanwhile, Ohtani is in the lineup for the first game of the doubleheader but Roberts said he wasn’t sure if the two-way star would play in the second contest. Ohtani went hitless in four at-bats during the series opener.
Shohei Ohtani’s knee treatment
Heading into the All-Star break, Ohtani and the Dodgers indicated the plan was to have his left knee drained. However, Roberts revealed the course of action was instead to administer him the aforementioned Orthovisc injection.
Orthovisc is injected into a joint to provide pain relief and shock absorption that is caused by osteoarthritis (commonly known as arthritis).
“It gives him some relief in his knee, which we were hoping to get. And then the four days off from activity gets it all to settle in,” Roberts said before the series opener at Yankee Stadium.
That seemingly has not yet provided total relief, given that Ohtani is out of the Dodgers rotation for the time being.
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