Ohtani out of Dodgers’ lineup for 3rd straight day with left knee and right biceps discomfort

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani sat out the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against Washington on Saturday as the two-way star deals with left knee and right biceps discomfort.

Ohtani was out of the lineup for three consecutive days for the first time since joining the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season on a $700 million, 10-year deal.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did report some progress, saying Ohtani took swings in the indoor batting cages Saturday after not taking swings Thursday or Friday. Ohtani did not report any discomfort.

Roberts will check on Ohtani’s status Sunday before deciding if he will play in the series finale against the Nationals.

“It was good to see that during the game, all game, I think he was hitting,” Roberts said following his team’s 6-5 victory over the Nationals. “I don’t know what intensity, but the hitting coaches said that he was swinging with some intent. So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

Roberts said Ohtani did not report any pain, but the Dodgers have not ruled out a stint on the injured list. If he goes on the IL by Sunday, the move can be backdated a maximum three days to when he was held out of a game against St. Louis on Thursday.

Ohtani has exclusively been a designated hitter since his last pitching appearance on July 3, but because he is designated as a two-way player, he would have a minimum 15-day IL stint.

“That’d be more of a deterrent,” Roberts said of an IL move.

Ohtani is 7 for 51 (.137) with one home run over his past 13 games. He struck out a season-high four times against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

“I feel that it’s gotten a lot better given his demeanor the last couple days,” Roberts said. “What I have learned about Shohei is when he doesn’t feel well, physically, he gets more short, and it’s just not the same personality, which makes sense. And so I think the last couple days he’s gotten a lot more loose and easygoing.”

After winning the NL MVP award the past two seasons, Ohtani is batting .279 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs in 129 games this year. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts and 85 2/3 innings as a pitcher.

Tommy Edman was moved to the leadoff spot in place of Ohtani for the third straight game. And after Alex Call was used as the designated hitter the previous two games, Teoscar Hernández was the DH on Saturday.

Edman put the Dodgers ahead with a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and Hernández had an RBI single in the first.

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Dalton Rushing had been scheduled to be the DH, but he was scratched due to elbow discomfort. The catcher is set to undergo an MRI before Sunday’s game.

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The story has been corrected to fix the date of Ohtani’s most recent pitching appearance.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here