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07/04 00:44 CDT Ohtani leaves start against Padres with biceps issue and is
unlikely to pitch in All-Star Game
Ohtani leaves start against Padres with biceps issue and is unlikely to pitch
in All-Star Game
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Shohei Ohtani left Friday night's game against the San
Diego Padres in the seventh inning with a right biceps issue and is unlikely to
pitch in the All-Star Game after the Los Angeles Dodgers adjusted his schedule.
The two-way superstar was hitless in three at-bats before being lifted as a
precaution. On the mound, Ohtani allowed three runs and seven hits in 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 the biceps issue during his at-bat in the sixth, when he
flied out to right field.
"It's the same location that I felt a couple months ago," he said through a
translator. "It went away pretty relatively quickly, so I expect that to happen
again."
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani would be given Saturday off to recover
and receive treatment.
"He's a quick healer and finds a way to get back," said Roberts, who added that
Ohtani's previous biceps issue was "so benign that I didn't hear about it until
tonight."
Ohtani has primarily been starting on the mound every Wednesday, but the team
pushed him back to Friday this week to manage his workload.
Asked if that meant Ohtani was unlikely to pitch in the All-Star Game, Roberts
said before the game: "I haven't formally said it, but if you just kind of do
the math, it would be hard to imagine. But I don't have to make that decision
quite yet."
Roberts will manage the National League All-Stars in Philadelphia.
He said the possibility of Ohtani skipping his last pitching start before the
All-Star break should "be on the table."
Ohtani is already penciled into the All-Star starting lineup as the NL
designated hitter because he was the overall leader with 3,341,257 votes after
the first phase of fan balloting.
The right-hander is a strong candidate to be selected to the NL pitching staff
as well, but Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Snchez seems most likely to
start in his home ballpark. Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski leads the majors
with a 1.45 ERA but is on turn to pitch for the Brewers two days before the
All-Star Game, which would make him unavailable against the American League.
Ohtani's ERA rose to 1.79 from 1.58 after his start Friday.
The Dodgers wanted Ohtani to get additional rest during a stretch of 13 games
in 13 days. If he makes his final scheduled start before the All-Star Game on
July 10, that would give his arm only three days of rest prior to the Midsummer
Showcase.
"Shohei hasn't had his best stuff recently and that's the truth," Roberts said.
"The fastball command hasn't been what it was earlier in the season, the
sweeper hasn't been the same."
Ohtani has been bothered by left knee soreness and has a blister on the middle
finger of his right hand.
"He feels good, the body feels good," Roberts said before Friday's game. "The
knee feels as good as it's felt in quite some time, so that's encouraging."
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
