07/19/26 12:57:00
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07/19 12:55 CDT Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani won't pitch for 'some time'
because of left knee irritation
Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani won't pitch for 'some time' because of left
knee irritation
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Shohei Ohtani won't make his next scheduled start on the
mound because of left knee irritation and isn't expected back in the Los
Angeles Dodgers' rotation for a while.
The two-way superstar received a lubricant injection in the knee just before
the All-Star break last week and had been expected to pitch Wednesday in
Philadelphia against the Phillies.
Ohtani, however, still didn't feel 100% while playing catch this weekend, so he
and the Dodgers decided not to even test the knee with a bullpen session.
The four-time MVP hasn't pitched since July 3, when he threw a season-high 110
pitches over six innings in a no-decision against San Diego. Now, it's unclear
when he'll return to the mound.
"I would say that it's going to be some time," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts
said Sunday before his team's doubleheader against the New York Yankees. "It's
not going to be a day-to-day thing."
Roberts reiterated that Ohtani feels no pain in the knee when hitting. The
slugger was in the starting lineup for Sunday's opener, batting leadoff as the
designated hitter, and Roberts said he'd wait to see about playing Ohtani in
the nightcap, too.
Ohtani laced an RBI double off All-Star Cam Schlittler and scored from second
base on Freddie Freeman's two-out single to give Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in the
third inning.
"We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get in a good
spot," Roberts said. "As he said, as we feel, it's the pitching and the torque
on landing on that leg. That kind of gets it upset. So I think that hitting
doesn't do that. So I think that for us, we're trying to give it as much time
as possible."
The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers began the day with the
best record in the majors at 62-36 and a 12-game lead in the NL West. Roberts
indicated that's playing into the team's approach with Ohtani, who skipped the
All-Star Game last Tuesday in Philadelphia to treat and rest his balky knee.
The right-hander has been dealing with the ailment for more than a month. He
had an outing cut short against Pittsburgh on June 11 because of inflammation
in the knee.
"I think for us, it's more like we've done many times over, erring on the side
of caution," the manager explained. "A lot of it is where we're at and how we
put ourselves in a good spot in the sense of, could he probably do it? Sure.
But right now the benefits don't seem to outweigh the cost of this time in the
season. So I think that we still have plenty of time to kind of get him in a
good spot."
Roberts said he's sure Ohtani will return to the mound this year.
"If it's two weeks or three weeks then that's kind of why we're trying to do
this, so we don't have to worry about it throughout the end of the season,"
Roberts said.
Emmet Sheehan had been expected to start during the Yankees series, but his
next outing was pushed back to Monday night in Philadelphia.
Los Angeles is off Thursday this week and Monday next week, providing some
short-term flexibility in the rotation while left-hander Blake Snell works his
way back from an injury.
Snell, sidelined since his season debut on May 9 because of loose bodies in his
left elbow, made a rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Oklahoma City and threw 32
pitches in 1 1/3 innings. He's expected to pitch again Friday and will need to
get up to about five innings and 75 pitches in the minors before returning to
the big league rotation, Roberts said.
"I think that once we moved Emmet, the rotation can keep going forward without
Shohei for the time being. I can't speak for how long that's going to be,"
Roberts said.
"He was on the schedule when we broke for the All-Star break and then it was
more of the training staff talking to him about, `Hey, coming out of the break,
how does Wednesday look? How do you feel? If you don't feel 100%, we have the
opportunity to kick the can,'" Roberts added. "I think it's more driven by the
organization saying, hey, if you're not 100% right, we don't have to do this."
Ohtani began the day batting .289 with 22 homers, 58 RBIs and a .942 OPS. He is
8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings over 14 starts on the
mound and has won his past six decisions.
"When he does swing the bat, it's the back knee versus the land knee where
you're kind of driving off of it to create torque when you pitch," Roberts
said. "And so there's no feeling of any sensation or any reason why we feel
he's got to stop hitting."
___
AP freelance writer Larry Fleisher contributed to this report.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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