Shohei Ohtani held out of Dodgers' loss to White Sox because of knee discomfort

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup Friday against the Chicago White Sox a day after exiting the game with discomfort in the back of his left knee.

"Seeing him today, he feels fine-ish," manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers' 8-2 loss. "But just giving him an extra day is the smart thing to do."

Ohtani underwent imaging on his left knee, according to Roberts, and it didn't show anything beyond "normal wear and tear." He underwent treatment Friday and might work out Saturday before a decision on whether to put him back in the lineup.

Roberts expressed optimism that Ohtani would return this weekend, and he still is penciled in to take the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium before the team's day off Thursday.

"It's something that I think we can manage," Roberts said. "Not an [injured list] situation."

Roberts initially was hopeful, after Ohtani left Thursday's 8-6 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in the seventh inning, that he would not miss additional time. He had missed just two games this season and never has been on the IL since joining the Dodgers.

But at this point in the season, the Dodgers are incentivized to play it safe with Ohtani's recovery.

"If it was another time of the season, he'd be in there," Roberts said.

The back of Ohtani's knee, where the swelling is concentrated, still is sore, Roberts said. The origin of that swelling is not entirely clear.

"There is no incident," Roberts said. "We don't know. He doesn't know. I asked him if it was during the pitching, was it when he was hitting, when he was trying to steal a base. And there was no one incident. So I don't know. I think that's maybe a good thing."

Ohtani's injury history includes surgery on his left knee in 2019. He was born with a rare congenital knee condition called bipartite patella, in which the kneecap doesn't fuse together. It often has no symptoms, but in 2019, Ohtani felt the effects, especially as he started ramping up his post-Tommy John surgery throwing program. He kept playing through it until September.

It's unclear whether there's any connection between that issue and the inflammation. Ohtani was not available before the game Friday.

"I think it's just more the natural evolution of limbs and body parts," Roberts said. "The running, the swinging, the landing when you're pitching. So that's just what happens to your body. So I think that something probably just pissed it off a little bit. But now we can kind of manage the symptoms and feel good about it going forward."

By the eighth inning Friday, the shirtless "tarps off" section that had formed in the top deck at Rate Field was feeling comfortable enough with the White Sox's lead to call for a bigger challenge.

"We want Sho-hei," they chanted.

Roki Sasaki struggles in loss

Former Dodger Miguel Vargas delivered the go-ahead hit for the White Sox in the fifth inning as part of a game-defining seven-run rally.

The teams had traded the lead. The White Sox struck first with a solo homer by Andrew Benintendi off Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki in the first inning. In the second, the Dodgers pulled ahead on Santiago Espinal's two-run single off Anthony Kay.

However, Sasaki's command wavered in the fifth. He walked the first batter and surrendered three straight hits - culminating in a double by Vargas off the right-field wall - to give up the lead.

Sasaki walked two more batters for another run before Roberts pulled him with one out and the bases loaded.

"My off-speed wasn't really good today," Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. "So the third time through the order, I wasn't able to get ahead in the count, I fell behind. So I couldn't get those outs easily."

The White Sox kept tacking on against right-hander Blake Treinen, as all three inherited runners scored, plus one more.

Sasaki was charged with a career-high seven runs in 4⅓ innings. It ended his streak of seven straight starts of five-plus innings.

"I don't think you can expect him to be perfect every time out," Roberts said. "He's on a good run, he really is. And so it is a good test for a young player that after he has one like this, how he responds. So that's something that we're all waiting to see. But I do think that he's equipped now with a good base of success."

Edman nearing return

Dodgers utility player Tommy Edman (right ankle surgery) is nearing the end of his minor-league rehab assignment. If all goes well in the coming days, Roberts expects him to return next week against the Rays. Edman has a .714 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 12 games with triple-A Oklahoma City.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 2:27 PM.