LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani left Friday’s game against the San Diego Padres in the seventh inning with a right biceps issue and is unlikely to play in the All-Star Game after the Los Angeles Dodgers adjusted his schedule.
The two-way superstar didn’t start a single game before being pulled as a precaution. On the mound, Ohtani allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings. He struck out nine and threw a season-high 110 pitches before Los Angeles rallied for a 4–3 victory.
Ohtani said he felt a bicep problem during the bout in the sixth round when he flew out to right field.
“This is the same place I felt a couple of months ago,” he said through a translator. “It went away pretty quickly, so I expect it to happen again.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani would be given Saturday to recover and heal.
“He’s healing quickly and finding a way to come back,” Roberts said, adding that Ohtani’s previous biceps problem was “so mild that I hadn’t heard of it until tonight.”
Ohtani had primarily taken the mound every Wednesday, but the team moved it to Fridays this week to manage the workload.
Asked if that meant Ohtani was unlikely to play in the All-Star Game, Roberts said before the game: “I haven’t officially said that, but if you just do the math, it’s hard to imagine. But I don’t have to make that decision yet.”
Roberts will be in charge of the National League All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
He said the possibility of Ohtani throwing his final pitch before the All-Star break should be “under consideration.”
Ohtani was already named to the All-Star starting lineup as a National League designated hitter as he was the overall leader with 3,341,257 votes after the first round of fan voting.
The right-hander is also a strong candidate for the National League pitching staff, but Philadelphia left-hander Christopher Sanchez appears likely to start in his home ballpark. Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski leads the field with a 1.45 ERA, but is scheduled to pitch for the Brewers two days before the All-Star Game, making him unavailable for American League play.
Ohtani’s ERA rose to 1.79 from 1.58 after his start on Friday.
The Dodgers wanted Ohtani to get extra rest for 13 games in 13 days. If he makes his last scheduled start before the All-Star Game on July 10, that would give his arm just three days of rest before the Midsummer Game.
“Shouhei hasn’t had the best performances lately, and that’s true,” Roberts said. “The fastball command is not what it was at the beginning of the season, the sweeper is not the same.”
Ohtani has pain in his left knee and a blister on the middle finger of his right hand.
“He feels good, his body feels good,” Roberts said before Friday’s game. “The knee feels as good as it has for some time, which is encouraging.”