The Los Angeles Dodgers will take the field Sunday night without Shohei Ohtani once again, leaving their two-way star on the bench for a fourth straight game as they try to finish off a series sweep of the Washington Nationals.
Manager Dave Roberts posted the lineup shortly before the series finale, and Ohtani’s name was missing from the designated hitter spot he has occupied most of the season. Tommy Edman is leading off in center field, with Mookie Betts at shortstop, Will Smith catching, Freddie Freeman at first, Teoscar Hernández in left, Kyle Tucker in right, Miguel Rojas at second, Max Muncy as the designated hitter and Kiké Hernández at third.
The Dodgers already took the first two games of the set, winning 5-3 on Friday and coming back for a 6-5 victory Saturday. A win Sunday would give them their first four-game winning streak in weeks and keep them in the hunt for the National League’s top seed.
Ohtani has been dealing with discomfort in his left knee and right biceps, along with some tightness that has crept into his neck and hip. He last played Wednesday against St. Louis and went 0-for-4 while visibly grimacing during his final at-bat.
Roberts has said he remains hopeful the club can avoid placing Ohtani on the injured list.
“There’s a chance … that we could almost just be in bed with the idea that whether it’s six, seven, eight days — [it’s] better than [15] days,” Roberts said, “if he’s trending in the right direction.”
The manager also pointed to a change in Ohtani’s mood as a positive sign.
“I feel that it’s gotten a lot better given his demeanor the last couple days,” Roberts said. “What I have learned about Shohei is when he doesn’t feel well, physically, he gets more short, and it’s just not the same personality, which makes sense. And so I think the last couple days he’s gotten a lot more loose and easy-going.”
Ohtani has not pitched since July 3 because of the same issues. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts this year, but those innings now feel like a distant memory as the calendar turns toward October.
At the plate he is still hitting .279 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs in 129 games. Those numbers would look even better if the last couple of weeks had not been so sloppy. The Dodgers have been inconsistent at the plate themselves, and losing their most dynamic hitter has made the stretch run feel a little more fragile.
The rest of the roster has stepped up in his absence. Edman supplied a three-run homer Saturday that turned the game around, and Hernández delivered an early RBI single while filling the designated-hitter role. Those contributions matter because the Dodgers are trying to win a third straight World Series.
Roberts has talked openly about treating Ohtani’s health with extra care the rest of the way. The club does not want a short-term patch that costs them a fully healthy version of their biggest star once the playoffs begin.
Justin Wrobleski will start Sunday opposite Nationals left-hander Andrew Alvarez. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. local time at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers sit two games behind Milwaukee for the best record in the National League. Every win without Ohtani buys them a little more breathing room, but it also raises the same question they have been asking all week: how long can they keep rolling if their most important player stays on the sideline?
Ohtani has taken some swings in the indoor cages the last couple of days and the training staff has reported no structural damage on recent imaging. Still, the team is not ready to declare him available.
For now the plan is simple. Rest him, watch how he moves, and hope the next few days produce enough improvement that an injured-list stint never becomes necessary. The Dodgers have enough talent around him to survive a few more games. Surviving October without him would be a different story.
