Shohei Ohtani comes out of his bullpen session without issues and will throw another

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani will throw another bullpen session following a successful outing on Friday as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar works his way back from a left knee injury that has kept him from pitching since July 3.

If Ohtani makes it through that workout without issue, he would likely progress to throwing batting practice, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.

Ohtani threw before the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.

“He came out of it well,” Roberts said. “Thirty-five pitches, threw his entire pitch mix.”

Ohtani had lubricant injected into his left knee on July 12, keeping him out of the All-Star Game. He is 8-2 on the mound this season with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings, to go along with a .290 batting average, 27 homers and 74 RBIs in 113 games.

Catcher Will Smith, who has not played since June 5 because of a neck injury, also responded well to his workout on Friday, when he took batting practice and caught a bullpen session.

Roberts said the “arrow is pointing up” for Smith, who has been pain-free for 10 days.

“I didn’t think he was going to be back before September, you know, and that’s still going to hold,” Roberts said.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb