New York (AFP) – Los Angeles Dodgers batting and pitching star Shohei Ohtani will not make a scheduled mound start at Philadelphia on Wednesday due to lingering knee soreness, manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. Ohtani missed last Tuesday’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game to undergo a left knee procedure.
Ohtani, who has helped the Dodgers win the past two World Series crowns, has been able to swing the bat at the Dodgers’ designated hitter, but has been battling the knee issues for more than a month. He is expected to pitch again this season, Roberts said. “It’s going to be some time,” Roberts said, “And I would say that it’s not going to be a day-to-day thing.” Roberts noted that the Dodgers want to let the knee completely heal, mindful that pitching could be what caused the soreness.
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Ohtani was dropped from a scheduled pitching start last week because of left knee irritation that began in a June 11 game at Pittsburgh. The 32-year-old Japanese right-handed pitcher, a four-time Most Valuable Player, received a lubricating shot in his knee that kept him from the All-Star Game. Hopes he might fully heal during the All-Star break were not rewarded, so the team has backed down his workload. “It’s all contingent on how his knee is feeling,” Roberts said.
This was set to be Ohtani’s first full season pitching and batting since 2023, and he made some starts on the mound when he was not in the batting lineup before returning to two-way duty in May. The Dodgers want Ohtani in top form both pitching and hitting for the playoffs and face no real pressure in the regular-season chase. They own the best record in MLB at 62-36 and lead the National League West division by 12 games over Arizona.
© 2024 AFP
