Ohtani has been playing through a “deep cough” and chest cold symptoms. He remains in the lineup at DH but won’t pitch until this weekend.
Shohei Ohtani was feeling “under the weather” on Tuesday – and hit a ball 120 mph, the third-highest exit velocity in MLB this year and the hardest-hit ball by any Dodger in the Statcast era (since 2015).
But he wasn’t up to pitching on Wednesday. The Dodgers scratched Ohtani from his scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, though he was in the lineup at DH.
“He did a side (throwing session) and didn’t feel good. Kind of alerted the training staff,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So we just felt at that point in time, asking him if he could still hit. He assured us that he could, which proved to be the right call (Ohtani was 3 for 5 with two doubles and the home run in Tuesday’s game).
“But as far as the workout with the catch play, it got cut short. And then when you’re sick and potentially dehydrated, just feeling like the tax of pitching in a game – it wasn’t worth it.”
With off days last Thursday and Monday, the Dodgers had skipped Emmet Sheehan’s spot in the starting rotation but hadn’t used him out of the bullpen. So Sheehan got the start Wednesday against the Pirates.
