Shohei Ohtani gets a night off as his biceps and neck issues linger

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani got the day off Thursday after appearing physically uncomfortable while striking out four times during the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 10-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals a night earlier.

Manager Dave Roberts texted Ohtani after the 8-6 defeat Wednesday to let him know he would not be starting in the series finale. The two-way superstar responded with an emoji salute.

“He knows that it was the right decision,” Roberts said.

Ohtani told the training staff that his right biceps and neck were bothering him.

“That’s why I think you saw some grimacing and some kind of shaking of the arm, just trying to get it to fire, and he couldn’t do that,” Roberts said.

Ohtani’s symptoms haven’t improved in recent weeks, and a potential stint on the injured list isn’t off the table.

“Unlikely, but not impossible,” Roberts said.

The manager said he would talk to Ohtani and team trainers later Thursday to see how he responded before deciding his status for Friday’s series opener against Washington.

“He wants to be in there, but I’m not going to just put him in there because of the name on the back of his jersey,” Roberts said, describing Ohtani’s health as day to day.

Center fielder Tommy Edman was in Ohtani’s leadoff spot against the Cardinals, while Alex Call took over as the designated hitter, batting eighth.

Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3 because of lingering pain in his left knee and the right biceps. At the plate, he’s hitting .279 after striking out four consecutive times for the first time this season.

Before being shut down, Ohtani was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 mound starts.

He threw a 20-pitch bullpen session last Friday but was scratched from a potential start at Detroit two days later. Roberts said that until he sees Ohtani throw another bullpen, he won’t know the next step in his pitching progression.

The Dodgers want a healthy Ohtani in October as they chase a third consecutive World Series championship.

“It’s up to us to kind of figure out how we navigate these next three-and-a-half, four weeks,” Roberts said, “but I’m very confident that we’ll see the guy we all expect to see.”

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