Overview
- Ohtani left the Dodgers’ Thursday game in Pittsburgh with left-knee inflammation, missed the next day for extra rest and modified travel, and underwent medical imaging that the team reported was clean.
- He told reporters he believes flaws in his pitching mechanics from his prior start — when he threw 102 pitches over 6 2/3 innings — likely caused the swelling rather than a single on-field incident.
- After that extra day off Ohtani returned to the lineup on Saturday in Chicago and produced offensively, hitting a leadoff home run and drawing three walks in the game.
- The Dodgers say they are not altering his current two-way usage and will continue to monitor him through routine pre-start evaluations as he said he feels confident enough to make his next scheduled start midweek.
- Ohtani’s episode underscores the physical strain of serving as both an MLB starter and a middle-of-the-order hitter and revives attention to his 2019 bipartite patella history as the club balances short-term goals with long-term injury risk.