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Shohei Ohtani didn’t look right when striking out in the 10th inning of the Dodgers’ 8-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
Ohtani, who hasn’t pitched since July 3 due to lingering knee and biceps issues, winced in pain throughout his eight-pitch at-bat against reliever Riley O’Brien, seeming to strain himself with every muscle flex, let alone big-league hacks.
“I saw the same thing that everyone saw,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I’m going to talk to [Ohtani] tomorrow and really try to figure out … where he’s at physically. Because, yeah, I saw the shaking of the arm, I saw the wincing, and clearly, the swings aren’t who he is.
“Obviously, there’s some compensation. So, I’m going to talk to him, and then I’ll make a decision tomorrow about his availability.”
Roberts isn’t sure if Ohtani, who went 0-for-4 on Wednesday with four strikeouts and a walk, will need to go on the injured list.
“It won’t be an IL, unless it is,” Roberts said. “But it’s very unlikely.”
Ohtani is the type of player who will suit up as long as he has a leg to stand on. He’s on pace to appear in 158 games for the third consecutive season.
“I think that tonight was kind of the tip of the iceberg,” Roberts said. “But I’ve seen it over the last couple of weeks, where he hasn’t been who he is.”
The Dodgers proved last season they need their two-way star to be an offensive catalyst and not a pitching sensation. They have the arms without him to win it all again.
With a month to go before October, when the Dodgers’ pursuit of a third consecutive World Series title truly starts, Roberts understands that Ohtani’s situation must be addressed now.
“I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup, and if he’s upright, he should play; I respect that,” Roberts said. “But if he’s feeling the way that it visibly looks, then [that’s] really not helping anyone. So, that’s the conversation that I’ll have with [the training staff].”
The Dodgers, who were 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position against the Cardinals Wednesday, could’ve used a big hit from their future Hall of Famer. They probably could’ve used his pitching, too.
Instead, the Dodgers are waiting to see if Ohtani will — or should — even be available for the foreseeable future.
