The Los Angeles Dodgers provided an update on Shohei Ohtani’s knee injury. Manager Dave Roberts told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic that Ohtani got lubricant injected into his ailing knee. The expectation is that his next start on the mound will come in their series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 22.
The “expectation” is he pitches Wednesday in Philadelphia.
That’s good news for the Dodgers, as Ohtani has been battling that knee injury for over a month. He first felt it during their series win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the club has managed it since.
The injury worsened enough for the two-way star to be scratched from his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks and from participating in the All-Star Game.
Shohei Ohtani’s Knee Becomes Dodgers’ Key Storyline of Second Half
The Dodgers enter the second half of the season with MLB’s best record at 61-36. They have a commanding lead in the National League West, up 11.5 games over Arizona at the break.
For the club, being healthy when the postseason comes is as important as landing a bye for the Wild Card round. That gives them some extra days of rest ahead of the division series.
Ohtani’s knee injury will be something to monitor over the second half. The Dodgers are already careful with overworking their best player, which is why they’ve used a six-man rotation all season. Managing his workload and knee injury will be one of Roberts’ top mandates, as the club prepares for the stretch run.
For the Dodgers’ first game of the second half, he’s in the starting lineup. Ohtani is the designated hitter and batting leadoff for the Dodgers.
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