PITTSBURGH — Shohei Ohtani’s next start on the mound is uncertain as he deals with a lingering illness that led the Los Angeles Dodgers star to skip his scheduled turn in the rotation on Wednesday night against Pittsburgh.
While Ohtani felt good enough to take his usual spot atop the order and finished with two of Los Angeles’ five hits in a 3-0 loss, manager Dave Roberts declined to put a date on when Ohtani be ready to make his 12th start of the season.
“He still doesn’t feel as strong,” Roberts said after the NL West-leading Dodgers lost for the fourth time in five games. “He’s in a better place, but certainly not there, and because of that, we just don’t have a date on the day on when he’s going to start.”
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Roberts said Ohtani was “under the weather” and “didn’t feel good” during a scheduled throwing session on Tuesday. He remained in the lineup despite dealing with what Roberts described as a “deep cough” and had three hits in a 9-7 setback that night, including his 100th home run with Los Angeles.
Ohtani and Roberts later discussed whether Ohtani was up to pitch, and decided to play it safe.
“When you’re sick and potentially dehydrated, the tax of pitching in a game, it wasn’t worth it,” Roberts said.
Emmet Sheehan made his first start since Aug. 25 on Wednesday and allowed two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.
Ohtani’s cough hasn’t slowed down his legs. He doubled off Mike Burrows in the fifth, then beat out an infield single in the seventh, later making the rare move to go from first to second on a fly out to right field by Mookie Betts.
“I think that he’s a competitor, he’s trying to help us win,” Roberts said. “So if he’s on the baseball field, if it means going back and tagging up to get to second base to get in the scoring position, he is going to do that. And so whatever it takes, he will do it.”
Ohtani isn’t the only Dodger dealing with something.
All-Star catcher Will Smith exited the game after the second inning with a contusion on the back of his right hand and was replaced by Dalton Rushing.
Roberts said X-rays on Smith’s hand were negative and described him as “day-to-day,” though it’s unlikely Smith will be available on Thursday when the Dodgers face Pirates ace Paul Skenes while trying to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of last-place Pittsburgh.
Los Angeles is optimistic that Smith won’t need to go on the injured list.
The Dodgers are off to a bumpy start to the stretch run as they try to fend off San Diego for the NL West crown. Los Angeles has dropped four of its last five, allowing the Padres to stay within close striking distance even while they endure a sluggish stretch of their own.
“I’m very much aware of that,” Roberts said. “They’re feeling the same thing we are and we’ve got to control what we can control and we’re certainly not.”
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