Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani returns with a bang after day off
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
- After sitting with knee inflammation, Shohei Ohtani returned to the Dodgers lineup in Chicago and crushed the second pitch he saw, powering a 7-1 win over the White Sox.
- Ohtani reported feeling improved but not yet 100%, saying he’s confident he can stay in the lineup and make his next scheduled start on the mound Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
- Dodgers officials suspect pitching mechanics contributed to the swelling, keep the rotation intact with Justin Wrobleski, and have ordered Ohtani to avoid stealing bases while his knee recovers.
CHICAGO — Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box at Rate Field for the first time this series on Saturday, greeted by a smattering of boos from Chicago White Sox fans.
He took his first swing at the second pitch of the game. And he sent it into the right-field stands. A no-doubt homer, proclaiming that his availability no longer was in doubt.
Ohtani returned to the lineup for the Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the White Sox, after exiting the game Thursday at Pittsburgh and missing Friday‘s game because of inflammation in his left knee.
“I felt good waking up in the morning,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after going one for three with a home run and three walks. “I feel good now. So I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go tomorrow as well.”
Ohtani also tested his knee playing catch before the game. And the Dodgers will continue to monitor him as he prepares to take the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium.
“It wasn’t 100% today,” Ohtani said. “But with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches a perfect game into the eighth inning and loses a no-hit bid in the ninth during the Dodgers’ win over the Chicago White Sox.
Ohtani said he hasn’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the swelling. But he has a theory.
“All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren’t quite great in terms of my pitching side,” he said, “so I believe that had something to do with this.”
Even before Ohtani’s knee swelled, the Dodgers planned to have him pitch the day before their day off Thursday. They switched Ohtani and left-hander Justin Wrobleski in the rotation order to have Wrobleski pitch Tuesday on regular rest.
That remains the plan, even after Wrobleski was hit in the leg by a comebacker during his start Thursday. He left the game after that play in the fifth inning with a bruised right hamstring.
The Dodgers considered bringing in a spot starter, manager Dave Roberts said, in order to keep the full rotation on extra rest.
“But considering how Wrobo’s start went short, feels good after it, we feel the four days’ rest will be fine for him,” Roberts said. “And then where Shohei is at, we feel good about just leaving it status quo.”
Ohtani returned Saturday without restrictions in his designated hitter role — except one request from his manager, after a couple of days of parsing whether a steal attempt that was snuffed out by a foul ball had contributed to Ohtani’s inflammation.
Though they didn’t find a clear cause for it, Roberts made it clear Saturday: “There will be no base stealing.”
