{"id":795598,"date":"2026-09-03T10:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T10:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/795598\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T10:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T10:36:34","slug":"dave-roberts-says-things-dont-look-right-with-shohei-ohtani-who-strikes-out-four-times-in-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/795598\/","title":{"rendered":"Dave Roberts says things don’t look right with Shohei Ohtani, who strikes out four times in loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shohei Ohtani<\/a> didn\u2019t look right when striking out in the 10th inning of the Dodgers\u2019 8-6 loss to the<\/a> St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Ohtani, who hasn\u2019t pitched since July 3 due to lingering knee and biceps issues, winced in pain throughout his eight-pitch at-bat against reliever Riley O\u2019Brien, seeming to strain himself with every muscle flex, let alone big-league hacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the same thing that everyone saw,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cI\u2019m going to talk to [Ohtani] tomorrow and really try to figure out \u2026 where he\u2019s at physically. Because, yeah, I saw the shaking of the arm, I saw the wincing, and clearly, the swings aren\u2019t who he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, there\u2019s some compensation. So, I\u2019m going to talk to him, and then I\u2019ll make a decision tomorrow about his availability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts isn\u2019t sure if Ohtani, who went 0-for-4 on Wednesday with four strikeouts and a walk, will need to go on the injured list.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t be an IL, unless it is,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut it\u2019s very unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohtani is the type of player who will suit up as long as he has a leg to stand on. He\u2019s on pace to appear in 158 games for the third consecutive season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that tonight was kind of the tip of the iceberg,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve seen it over the last couple of weeks, where he hasn\u2019t been who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a month to go before October, when the Dodgers\u2019 pursuit of a third consecutive World Series title truly starts, Roberts understands that Ohtani\u2019s situation must be addressed now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup, and if he\u2019s upright, he should play; I respect that,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut if he\u2019s feeling the way that it visibly looks, then [that\u2019s] really not helping anyone. So, that\u2019s the conversation that I\u2019ll have with [the training staff].\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers, who were 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position against the Cardinals Wednesday, could\u2019ve used a big hit from their future Hall of Famer. They probably could\u2019ve used his pitching, too.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Dodgers are waiting to see if Ohtani will \u2014 or should \u2014 even be available for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think that he is a very finely tuned athlete,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cSo when he\u2019s not kind of all synced up, and the parts aren\u2019t working the way that he\u2019s used to them working, things are compromised. And so clearly tonight, you can see the swing wasn\u2019t the swing that we\u2019re used to seeing. So he\u2019s not close to optimal tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is going to get him close to being able to perform at the level that you know he expects? That\u2019s kind of the question. And time off obviously seems logical, so I\u2019m not blind to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohtani\u2019s uncertain status comes at a tricky time for the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

The two-time defending champions haven\u2019t looked the part for much of the summer. Wednesday\u2019s ugly loss, in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a> and the Dodgers crumbled late despite taking a 3-0 first-inning lead, was the latest example.<\/p>\n

\"Yoshinobu <\/p>\n

Yoshinobu Yamamoto walks back to the mound after giving up a home run to Thomas Saggese in the sixth inning Wednesday.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a team, yes, there might be some stuff we need to do better [and] work on some stuff,\u201d said Yamamoto, who had a no-hitter through five before surrendering a pair of two-run homers over his final two innings. \u201cBut because we have great players and experienced players, I think we will be able to get over this hump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yamamoto isn\u2019t alone in staying calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been through everything,\u201d Freddie Freeman, who ended his career-high 47-game home run drought with a three-run blast in the first, said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen everything. [We\u2019ve] had our backs against the wall and had to win games when we really needed to \u2026 I think good things are ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good things very well could be ahead for the Dodgers, who are 82-57 and in first place<\/a> by nine games in the NL West. They\u2019ve earned the right not to panic; that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n

But the equation could change drastically based on Ohtani\u2019s status down the stretch. <\/p>\n

CT3 comes home \"Chris <\/p>\n

Chris Taylor, his wife, Mary, and son Theo watch a video tribute to his career before the start of Wednesday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The Dodgers welcomed back former longtime utility player Chris Taylor to Dodger Stadium and presented him with a video tribute and his third World Series ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty much what I identify my career as \u2014 over 90% of my entire career was in Dodger blue,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThis is the place I call home. Always proud to be a Dodger, and it means a lot to me that they would do this for me. So, I\u2019m extremely humbled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor, a 12-year veteran who retired this season, said Wednesday night was the first time he was able to watch a game with his family.<\/p>\n

Injury updates<\/p>\n

Catcher Will Smith was given a breather after going one for five with two RBIs in his first game back from a three-month stint on the injured list on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good to see him get a knock,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI thought he swung the bat pretty well. So, it\u2019s a premeditated day off today. He\u2019ll be back in there tomorrow, but I guess no news is good news.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a full day off, as Smith pinch-hit for Hunter Feduccia in the ninth and scored the Dodgers\u2019 run in the 10th.<\/p>\n

Right-hander Roki Sasaki\u2019s blister is healing while he\u2019s on the IL, so he shouldn\u2019t miss additional time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him yesterday at the end of the bench; it\u2019s healing well,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cHe\u2019s still moving his arm, playing catch. So I think it\u2019s going to be a shorter term getting him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts doesn\u2019t yet know whether Sasaki will take a spot in rotation upon his return.<\/p>\n

Another right-hander, Gavin Stone, who hasn\u2019t pitched since August 2024 potentially could pitch this month, Roberts said. Stone recently made his fourth rehab start.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin\u2019s been good,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI think right now \u2014 and again, this is not talking to the guys in the, you know, player development \u2014 but it\u2019s more of just getting him to stay upright, stay healthy, is the win for 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shohei Ohtani didn\u2019t look right when striking out in the 10th inning of the Dodgers\u2019 8-6 loss to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":795599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[7217,5,160,7880,39,14,29990,1165,4332,4333,74551,774,57,3224,4331,4885,4,7879,1602,110,3215,3998,1372,313],"class_list":["post-795598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-10th","tag-baseball","tag-cardinals","tag-dodger","tag-dodgers","tag-game","tag-joshua-baez","tag-la","tag-la-dodgers","tag-ladodgers","tag-last-night","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesdodgers","tag-loss","tag-mlb","tag-pitch","tag-roberts","tag-roki-sasaki","tag-run","tag-tuesday","tag-wednesday","tag-yoshinobu-yamamoto"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117206672244115600","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/795599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}