Shohei Ohtani exited the game on Wednesday after taking a comeback while on the mound. His status for Friday's huge series against the Padres has been revealed.
Dodgers' Dave Roberts provides encouraging Shohei Ohtani update before Padres clash originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Shohei Ohtani to the mound on Wednesday against the Rockies, but the outing was far from ideal. Ohtani lasted only four innings, falling short of the scheduled five. His stat line was unusually rough—numbers he hasn’t posted against him in quite some time.
Ohtani gave up five earned runs and nine hits against the Rockies. It's tied for the most runs he's allowed since July 2022, while the nine hits matched a career high, per ESPN.
Ohtani was also injured during the game after taking a comebacker off the bat of Rockies’ Orlando Arcia. Though he was pulled from the mound in the fourth inning, he stayed in the game as the designated hitter. However, he was removed in the fifth.
“When done on the mound, he stayed in the game as L.A.'s designated hitter and walked in the fifth, but the Dodgers pinch hit Alex Call for Ohtani in his following at-bat. There's currently no word on whether the late removal is due to a potential injury to his leg following the comebacker from Arcia,” SI’s Blake Silverman wrote.
Although Ohtani was injured on Wednesday, the timing may have worked out, as both he and manager Dave Roberts had already planned for him to rest on Thursday. It remained unclear whether the injury would carry over into the upcoming series against the Padres, but the expectation is that Ohtani will be ready to play this weekend.
“Dodgers Dave Roberts said he told Shohei Ohtani to sleep in today -- advice Ohtani does not need to hear twice -- and report to the park late. Expects him to be back in lineup Friday in SD,” Dodgers writer Bill Plunkett wrote.
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This is welcome news for the Dodgers, as their weekend series against the Padres once again carries first-place implications. The Dodgers swept San Diego last week, but it won’t be an easy task to repeat. With Ohtani likely returning, they’ll at least get a much-needed boost.
Category: Baseball
