Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani spoke about the left knee injury that led to him missing Friday’s game vs. the Chicago White Sox.
Ohtani left Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning with knee inflammation in his left knee.
The Japanese star was expected to play on Friday, according to manager Dave Roberts, but he decided to give him a day to get rest and travel on a more relaxed schedule since the Dodgers went from Pittsburgh to Chicago.
True to his word, Roberts ended up starting Ohtani on Saturday after he went through batting practice and responded well.
Ohtani went 1-for-3 on Saturday with a home run and three walks, raising his batting average to .305 with a .979 OPS.
On the season, he has 14 home runs and 41 RBIs. He looks great at the plate considering what he had going on over the last 48 hours.
What did Shohei Ohtani say after his return?
After the game, Ohtani broke down how he felt during warm-ups and how he feels compared to his usual best.
“I felt good waking up in the morning. I feel good now,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “So I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go tomorrow as well.
“It wasn’t 100% today. But with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start.”
While taking time to reflect on his knee, he even shared what he thinks led up to the inflammation.
“All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren’t quite great in terms of my pitching side,” he said, “so I believe that had something to do with this.”
Hopefully, all goes well for Ohtani going forward, and his Cy Young push continues as he puts the finishing touches on what is headed towards being the greatest season of baseball ever.
