The Los Angeles Dodgers secured a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night to improve to 83-57 on the season.
On Friday, they’ll begin a series at home against the Washington Nationals, and ahead of the matchup, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made a fairly concerning decision regarding superstar Shohei Ohtani, who seems to be dealing with a plethora of injuries at the moment.
Dodgers Announce Ohtani Decision
Ohtani is still working through a lingering knee issue that has kept him away from pitching since before the All-Star break, but he remains in the lineup as a hitter.
However, he missed Thursday’s game while dealing with what seems to be a biceps and neck issue, according to Roberts. Now, he’ll miss his second consecutive game in the series opener against the Nationals.
He went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts on Wednesday, the last time we saw him play, and he grimaced after his last at-bat, clearly showing signs of discomfort.
This marks the first time all season that Ohtani has missed back-to-back games.
Here’s the full Dodgers lineup:
Via Underdog MLB: “Dodgers 9/4 T. Edman CF M. Betts SS T. Hernández LF W. Smith C M. Muncy 3B M. Rojas 2B A. Call DH K. Tucker RF E. Hernández 1B B. Snell SP.”
Dodgers 9/4
T. Edman CF
M. Betts SS
T. Hernández LF
W. Smith C
M. Muncy 3B
M. Rojas 2B
A. Call DH
K. Tucker RF
E. Hernández 1BB. Snell SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 4, 2026
Ohtani’s 2026 Campaign
Once again, Ohtani is having another MVP-level season and, while he hasn’t pitched in a while, he’s remained extremely productive at the plate.
He’s logged 499 at-bats this season and is currently batting .279 with 139 hits, 30 home runs and 80 RBIs while slugging .525 with a .906 OPS.
In the games he’s pitched, Ohtani has an 8-2 record with a 1.79 ERA across 14 starts and 85.2 innings.
Los Angeles Dodgers Announce Concerning Shohei Ohtani Decision Before Nationals Series