In hindsight, Dave Roberts dropped the hint Tuesday night.
When asked about Shohei Ohtani ’s plan for Wednesday’s series finale against the Mets , the manager said then that Ohtani is “going to be our starting pitcher tomorrow.”
What he neglected to mention: That pitching would be the only thing Ohtani does in the game.
Shohei Ohtani was going to pitch Wednesday night against the Mets, but he will not hit, manager Dave Roberts said. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
For the first time since May 2021, Ohtani was in the lineup as a pitcher only for Wednesday’s contest, dropped from the batting order –– and his typical leadoff spot as the team’s designated hitter –– because of lingering soreness in the back of his right pitching shoulder after being hit by a pitch there earlier this week.
“If he wouldn’t have gotten hit, he would’ve DH’d today,” Roberts said. “So I just think in this one game, it just makes more sense to give him the best chance to kind of manage the shoulder and the back.”
The hit-by-pitch in question happened in Ohtani’s first at-bat Monday night, when David Peterson plunked him with a 94 mph sinker that sent the four-time MVP reeling in pain.
Ohtani stayed in that night’s game, and DH’d again Tuesday. But he’s gone 0-for-7 since, only reaching base once in that span via an intentional walk.
“There’s still some soreness in there,” Roberts said.
Thus, the Dodgers decided it’d be best to have him only pitch Wednesday, in what will be his third outing on the mound this season. Dalton Rushing will serve as DH in Ohtani’s place.
“[It was] just feeling what gives him the best chance to stay loose during the outing, feel good,” Roberts said. “When he’s hitting, there’s a component that he’s in the cage getting ready to hit. And if we can take that off his plate and just focus on one thing tonight, we felt — training staff, pitching coaches, myself — we just felt it was the best thing for him.”
Roberts said he expects Ohtani to resume two-way duties the next time his spot in the rotation comes up.
He added that Ohtani “completely understood” the reasoning for Wednesday’s decision.
Overall this season, Ohtani is hitting just .254, albeit with five home runs, 10 RBIs and a .910 OPS. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
In case you were wondering, Ohtani will not be an option to pinch-hit later in Wednesday’s game, either. While, during his normal two-way starts, he is able to remain in the game as a hitter after his pitching start ends, the same flexibility does not apply if he is not in the starting lineup as the DH.
Because of that, Ohtani’s 48-game on-base streak also won’t be threatened. On-base streaks aren’t snapped if a player does not get a plate appearance in a game (even if they pitch, pinch-run or play defense).
