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- Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani made an early exit from Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates because of inflammation in his left knee.
- Dodgers starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski also left the game early after sustaining a right hamstring contusion.
PITTSBURGH — The Dodgers couldn’t have asked for better timing as Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff spot came back around.
With the Dodgers clinging to a two-run lead in the seventh inning of Thursday’s 8-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ohtani, who had reached base four times, was due up with runners on first and second and one out.
Instead, Santiago Espinal stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Ohtani left the game because of inflammation in his left knee, the Dodgers announced.
“Just wanted to be smart and not push it,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Roberts described the injury as “discomfort” at the back of Ohtani’s knee, around where the hamstring attaches. Though Ohtani underwent surgery on the same knee in 2019, that was to address a bipartite patella, on the other side of the knee.
It was not clear how Ohtani hurt his knee, and he was not available after the game. Roberts speculated that it likely happened when Ohtani took off to steal second in the fourth inning, before a foul ball sent him back.
“Didn’t hear about it last night,” Roberts said. “Didn’t hear about it today until about the sixth.”
Before leaving, Ohtani had a solo home run — his second homer in as many games and 13th overall — and a single and drew two walks.
It was an impressive performance, a day after he took on two-way duties. On the mound Wednesday, he gave up three earned runs in 6-2/3 innings.
He’s been on an offensive tear. He entered Thursday with a .400 batting average and 1.207 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in his last 25 games — dating to May 12, the day before Roberts gave him two consecutive days off from hitting.
Ohtani was out of the lineup Friday against the Chicago White Sox, with Alex Call penciled in as the leadoff hitter and playing left field and Santiago Espinal serving as the designated hitter.
Roberts said Friday that Ohtani had imaging done on the knee and it showed “the normal wear and tear.”
“He feels fine-ish,” said Roberts, who hopes Ohtani will be back in the lineup this weekend. Ohtani remains in line to make his next pitching start Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium, Roberts said.
Ohtani was one of two members of the Dodgers’ starting rotation who left Thursday’s game injured.
Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski exited in the fifth inning because of a bruised right hamstring. He and Roberts both said they don’t expect it to impact his next start.
The fifth inning already had begun to spiral on Wrobleski. After throwing four scoreless innings, he surrendered solo home runs to Rafael Flores Jr. (the first of his major league career) and Brandon Lowe.
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Then Bryan Reynolds hit a line-drive off the inside of Wrobleski’s right leg. The ball ricocheted to the edge of the infield grass, where first baseman Freddie Freeman picked it up.
Wrobleski already was racing toward first base. But after turning to catch the throw, he missed the base and stumbled backward into Reynolds, who tripped over Wrobleski’s extended left foot.
“Thankfully he kind of got out of the way enough that we barely touched each other,” Wrobleski said. “He’s OK. I’m OK. So all’s good there.”
Wrobleski limped away, finally able to react to the pain where the ball hit him. An athletic trainer followed him, circling back to the mound. But as he was setting up to throw a warmup pitch, Roberts came out to make a change.
Wrobleski was charged with four runs in 4-2/3 innings. He gave up six hits and a pair of walks.
“Just one of those outings where I didn’t feel I threw it that great,” Wrobleski said. “It happens. That’s part of the game. That’s what keeps you coming back. I didn’t feel I had the command I usually have, especially early in counts, and I think it cost me.”
The Dodgers’ bullpen bent but did not break, with the help of late-inning insurance runs from the offense. Left-hander Tanner Scott recorded the final four outs, striking out the side in the ninth.
With the win, the Dodgers secured a series victory at PNC Park for the first time since 2021.
