Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani advances to third base on a hit and run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is day-to-day after exiting Los Angeles’ Thursday game at Pittsburgh in the top of the seventh inning because of left knee inflammation.
Ohtani went 2-for-2 with his second home run in as many games and had reached base four times before his departure. Santiago Espinal replaced him as the Dodgers’ designated hitter.
After Los Angeles’ 8-6 win over the Pirates, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his level of concern regarding Ohtani is “not high.” It was unclear when the ailment started, as Ohtani hadn’t told Roberts of any issues with the knee until the sixth inning.
“I think we tried to be smart about it,” Roberts said. “Talked to the trainer who said he had a little (soreness) behind the knee. … Just wanted to be smart and not push it.”
As to whether Ohtani will play the series opener against the White Sox in Chicago on Friday, Roberts said, “I feel good about him being in there tomorrow, but obviously with the travel tonight, we’ll just kind of see how he comes in.”
Earlier in the Thursday game, the Dodgers also lost starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski, who took a 96.2 mph comebacker off his upper leg and then collided with Bryan Reynolds on the latter’s infield single in the fifth inning.
The left-hander came out due to a right hamstring contusion. He allowed four runs on six hits (two home runs) in 4 2/3 innings.
Roberts said of Wrobleski postgame, “He’s fine. … He’s just more frustrated with his performance tonight and wanted to go deeper in the game.”
Ohtani opened the scoring in the third inning by depositing a 3-2 sweeper from Mitch Keller over the wall in right-center field for a solo shot. The long ball was the 13th of the season for Ohtani, who launched a two-run blast in the Dodgers’ 9-8 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
