LOS ANGELES -- Shohei Ohtani will pitch but not hit for the second time in his last three starts Tuesday, as the Dodgers continue to seek the right balance for their two-way superstar, manager Dave Roberts confirmed Monday night.
Ohtani will make his scheduled start against the Miami Marlins on five days' rest for the first time this season, which, along with Wednesday's game being a 12:10 p.m. PT start time, both factored into the Dodgers' decision to restrict him to just one side of baseball.
The four-time MVP's usage is one of the most intriguing plot lines for the reigning back-to-back World Series champions. Those around the Dodgers are conscious of Ohtani's pursuit of winning a Cy Young Award in his first full season back on the mound since 2023. They also want to preserve Ohtani's bat, which has helped carry the organization to back-to-back titles.
Ohtani has been one of the best pitchers in the sport to start the season, trailing only the Angels' José Soriano in ERA (0.38). He's already producing more bWAR as a pitcher in four starts (1.2) than he did in 14 abbreviated starts a season ago (1.1).
Up until late, Ohtani's focus on the mound has sparked conversation about whether his pitching was starting to take away from his offense.
His last two days at the plate have quieted some of that noise. Ohtani went 3-for-3 with a home run on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, snapping the longest homerless streak in his three-year Dodgers career (59 plate appearances). He followed that up with a second consecutive three-hit game on Monday night, scorching a run-scoring double off Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks in the ninth inning that helped set up a 5-4 walk-off win.
"Hopefully, he doesn't put too much weight into it," said Roberts on Monday afternoon of the talk about his two-way balance. "I don't talk to him too much about it, to be quite honest, but he is well aware of what's being said about him. But again, I think right now, all he's thinking about is today. And then at some point in time, I'll have a conversation with him."
To this point, the Dodgers have had the benefit of the schedule, along with the bonus of being able to run a six-man rotation. Los Angeles has already had four off days with a fifth one coming on Thursday. Still, Tuesday’s start will mark the 12th of 13 games in a row for the Dodgers. They will only have three off days in all of May.
Pitching on five days’ rest is new for Ohtani with the Dodgers, but it’s something he did 15 times in 23 starts with the Angels in his final year before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament a second time. Ohtani only pitched on five days’ rest twice last regular season, though both of those starts came before he was built up for full outings.
He has only made one start on five days’ rest where he made it to the third inning since his final season with the Angels in 2023; Ohtani didn’t finish the third inning when pitching on three days’ rest in Game 7 of last year’s World Series.
Ohtani pitched, but didn't hit on April 15 against the New York Mets and delivered six scoreless innings while striking out a season-best 10 batters. Still, Roberts said then the decision was a one-off that stemmed from Ohtani being hit on the right shoulder by a fastball two days prior.
Now this might become a more regular occurrence. After all, there is nothing more important to the Dodgers' chances of a three-peat than keeping Ohtani healthy.