Fear not, Los Angeles Dodgers fans.
Shohei Ohtani’s hiatus from the pitching mound is brief. After being scratched from Wednesday’s start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ohtani is already back in the Dodgers rotation.
The Dodgers announced Thursday that Ohtani is scheduled to return to the mound for a home start on Monday against the Colorado Rockies.
Ohtani was initially scheduled to pitch Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But he was a late scratch from the start due to illness. The illness wasn’t enough to keep Ohtani out of the game. He retained his leadoff spot in the lineup and went 2 for 5 at the plate in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 win.
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Manager Dave Roberts later told reporters that Ohtani was dealing with a chest cold. The Dodgers opted not to stress his body with five anticipated innings on the mound. The prospect of five at-bats without playing in the field was a different story, and the Dodgers and Ohtani felt good about his place in the lineup.
“When you’re sick and potentially dehydrated, [we were] just feeling like the tax of pitching in a game, it wasn’t worth it,” Roberts said, per MLB.com.
Ohtani’s made 11 starts this season and is gradually amping up his work load in his return from a nearly two-year pitching layoff due to his second Tommy John surgery. He made his Dodgers debut as a pitcher on June 16 with one inning of work against the San Diego Padres.
He’s made 10 starts since and has gradually increased his workload since. He reached five innings for the first time in his last start on Aug. 27 and picked up a win against the Cincinnati Reds in the first game this season that he was eligible to do so.
The hope on Wednesday was that he could go five innings again. Barring a setback, that will be the expectation on Monday against the Rockies.
Ohtani’s been effective at times, but so far hasn’t been at his best on the mound for the Dodgers. His 4.18 ERA would qualify as the worst of his career in a season in which he made 10-plus starts. The Dodgers are hoping that he can continue to increase his work load and regain his prior pitching form in time for the postseason while not putting his MVP bat at risk.
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