Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will pitch in Wednesday’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, but won’t be in the batting order.
Before the game, manager Dave Roberts confirmed Ohtani’s lingering knee issue is the cause. Ohtani came out of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week due to his inflamed knee, and missed the following game as well.
“I wouldn’t say it’s completely behind us,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I feel that we can kind of manage it. He’s managing it. The training staff is managing it. But I wouldn’t say completely behind us.”
“…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. So those signs right there give us confidence that he’s going to be fine.”
Ohtani doesn’t know when he started feeling the injury, but stated it has affected his pitching mechanics. That alone is reason enough for the Dodgers to take precautionary measures with the reigning MVP.
“It’s actually hard to pinpoint at what moment this happened,” Ohtani said. “All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren’t quite great in terms of my pitching side, so I believe that had something to do with this.”
The Dodgers already have a grip on the series, winning each of the first two games against the Rays on Monday and Tuesday, and will enjoy an off day tomorrow, so having Ohtani start but not bat shouldn’t be of much consequence.
Will the Dodgers Miss Shohei Ohtani’s Bat?
While the Dodgers have plenty of bats in their lineup more than capable of doing damage, it would just be incorrect to say they won’t miss one of MLB’s best hitters.
Ohtani has a .966 OPS on the year, hitting 15 homers—including a game-winner on Tuesday—and tallying 42 RBIs. The Dodgers still rolled out a strong lineup for the last game of the series, though, and will aim to earn a sweep over the Rays with a win on Wednesday.
Do you think the Dodgers made the right move withholding Shohei Ohtani from the lineup on Wednesday?
