Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani back in lineup after missing 1 game
CHICAGO - It's Sho time again.
Shohei Ohtani's absence from the Dodgers' lineup with a sore left knee lasted just one game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he spoke with Ohtani on Saturday and "he feels good, wants to play," so he was back in the starting lineup for the second game of the series against the Chicago White Sox.
And he hit a home run in his first at-bat.
"It's awesome," shortstop Mookie Betts said. "Obviously he's the best player in the world, so any time you can get the best player in the world back in your lineup, it's definitely going to help. He showed it immediately."
Roberts said the decision to put Ohtani back in the lineup was driven by Ohtani and the training staff.
"I felt good waking up in the morning. I feel good now," Ohtani said through his interpreter after the game. "So I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go tomorrow as well."
Ohtani's next pitching start is scheduled for Wednesday and Roberts said he doesn't expect that to be impacted. Ohtani threw on flat ground before Saturday's game to see how the knee would feel.
"It wasn't 100 percent today, but with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start," Ohtani said of that flat-ground throwing session.
Though Roberts initially pointed to a stolen base attempt in Thursday's game as the possible cause of the inflammation in Ohtani's knee, Ohtani himself thought it might have begun during his start on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. He threw 102 pitches in 6⅔ innings in that game.
"It's actually hard to pinpoint at what moment this happened," Ohtani said of the landing leg during his delivery. "All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren't quite great in terms of my pitching side, so I believe that had something to do with this."
One thing is certain – Roberts "absolutely" wants Ohtani to take caution when running the bases. He was on base four times in Saturday's game (his leadoff home run and three walks) and scored two runs. But the only time he took any risk was when he advanced on a wild pitch in the sixth inning.
"There will be no base stealing," Roberts said.
Ohtani was pulled from Thursday's game in Pittsburgh when he felt discomfort in the back of his left knee. He underwent an MRI on Friday in Chicago that showed no structural damage, only inflammation. Roberts said that swelling is gone now.
PITCHING PLAN
The Dodgers don't expect Ohtani's knee issue to impact his next pitching start. But their commitment to keeping him on a once-a-week schedule will impact the other starting pitchers.
Eric Lauer will start Monday on five days of rest. But Justin Wrobleski will move up and pitch on four days of rest Tuesday so that Ohtani can start Wednesday, backed up to the team's off day on Thursday.
Wrobleski will be just the second Dodgers pitcher to start on four days' rest this season. Emmet Sheehan did it once, on May 19 in San Diego – also so Ohtani could remain on extended rest.
Wrobleski had his own injury issue in Thursday's game. He was hit in the back of the right leg by a comebacker and suffered a bruised hamstring. It has not affected his between-starts routine.
"Yeah, he's good," Roberts said of Wrobleski. "I talked to him yesterday and he's a little bit sore which is understandable. But he'll be ready to go on Tuesday."
Roberts acknowledged that the Dodgers considered using a spot starter to keep everyone in the rotation on at least five days of rest between starts. River Ryan has now made seven starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City with a 2.81 ERA in his return from Tommy John surgery.
"We thought about it," Roberts said of a spot starter. "But considering how Wrobo's start went short (4⅔ innings), he feels good after it. We feel the four days' rest will be fine for him and then where Shohei is at we feel good about just leaving it status quo."
PROUD DAD
Roberts left the team immediately after Saturday's game and flew to Northern California, where he will attend his daughter Emme's graduation from Stanford. Bench coach Danny Lehmann will manage the team for Sunday's road trip finale and Roberts will rejoin the team in Los Angeles on Monday.
"I think that's one of the good things about the way the world has evolved to where you do some things for mental health or your family and it's not frowned upon that you care less about your job," Roberts said. "That should be applicable to everyone. It's good to feel like I can go and I don't feel like I'm being judged because I'm going to celebrate my daughter. This is my fourth and last one. I've had two high school graduations and two college graduations.
"I encourage my staff to do it. You see it all around baseball. People are doing things for their family and paternity leave, things like that. It's healthy."
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan, 3-3, 4.70 ERA) at White Sox (RHP Erick Fedde, 1-5, 4.69 ERA), Sunday, 11:10 a.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 1:39 PM.