Shohei Ohtani might be held out of the lineup during more pitching starts, Dodgers manager says

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Dave Roberts is committed to Shohei Ohtani’s health and keeping him fresh to perform both on the mound and at the plate for the long haul.

And that may look different by the day or week, depending how the two-way star is feeling.

For some games, that could mean Ohtani pitches but isn’t batting as the designated hitter — and the Los Angeles Dodgers manager plans to keep his options open.

Ohtani made his fourth mound start Wednesday night against the San Francisco Giants. A week earlier, Ohtani was held out of the lineup while pitching for the first time since 2021 because he was still sore from getting hit by a pitch.

The 31-year-old Ohtani entered with a batting average of .271, five home runs and 11 RBIs in 85 at-bats. He had allowed just one earned run over his first 18 innings of 2026 for an ERA of 0.50 and 2-0 record, surrendering 10 hits with 18 strikeouts and six walks.

Ohtani also had a career-best on-base streak of 53 games, tied for second in Dodgers history with Shawn Green. Duke Snider owns the team record at 58 games from May 13-July 11, 1954. Ohtani’s streak is the longest in the majors since Orlando Cabrera reached base in 63 straight from April 25-July 6, 2006.

“I think if you look at the overall numbers it’s certainly something. I still feel really good about putting his name in the lineup,” Roberts...