The Los Angeles Dodgers are being extremely cautious with the best player in baseball.
They pulled Shohei Ohtani from a June 11 game vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates with swelling in his left knee, and while he shrugged off concerns with a big homer in the following game, it was still a situation to keep a close eye on.
Given his status, there were doubts about whether the Dodgers would send him back to the mound for his scheduled start on Wednesday.
However, it seems to have been just a scare, with manager Dave Roberts confirming to ESPN that he’ll be out there as scheduled.
Shohei Ohtani will start against the Rays
“I saw that he had just a catch-play right now,” Roberts said. “He’s going to do his touchy-feely deal from the mound in a little bit. I saw him play some catch. Looks good, feels good. Look forward to him making a start [Wednesday].”
Ohtani is finally starting to get hot at the plate after a somewhat slow start to the season — at least by his standards.
He’s hit four home runs in his last six games, taking his season tally to 15 dingers, 42 RBI, six stolen bases and a .297/.419/.547 slash line, per Baseball Reference.
He’s been even better on the mound, logging a 6-2 record in 11 starts with a 1.06 ERA, a 0.842 WHIP and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Dodgers have understandably been extremely cautious with his health and workload, and they wouldn’t risk an aggravated injury if he weren’t fully healthy.
“Anyone that has anything that has a potential red flag, we’ll certainly be watching closely. But again, he wouldn’t start if we felt that we were going to put him in harm’s way. He’s a competitor,” Roberts added.
Ohtani is coming off throwing 6.2 innings and giving up three earned runs in his last start, and he’ll look to continue proving he’s the best show in baseball when he takes the mound again on Wednesday afternoon.