PHOENIX — Dodgers two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to get the day off Thursday after pitching and hitting Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said before the game. Roberts left open the possibility of a pinch-hit appearance Thursday with the game on the line.
But the Dodgers won’t necessarily feel the need to find him rest days, either by lining his start up before an off day in the schedule or giving him the day off, after every two-way day.
The Dodgers are in the midst of a 10-day stretch without an off day, playing into the decision to sit Ohtani Thursday.
“I feel we can empty the tank on the pitching, the hitting side [Wednesday] then give him that full day tomorrow,” Roberts said before the game. “Whereas a couple weeks [ago], I felt he needed two days to kind of reset. I think that reset did him well. But I think as we look out to the next one we’ll kind of read and react.”
Earlier in the year, the Dodgers had experimented at times with giving Ohtani the day off from hitting when he pitched. And as he started coming out of his offensive slow start, Roberts even gave him a full day off after a day of only pitching.
Ohtani was back to a full starter’s workload for the first time since 2023, even mentioning fatigue in his postgame interview after his second start of the season, and before games was working to address his offensive struggles.
With Ohtani both hitting well and appearing more refreshed lately, however, he’s been in the batting order for his past three starts on the mound.
“That’s more of the conversations that we’ve had,” Roberts said of prioritizing the full recovery day. “[Wednesday] is going to be taxing more mentally because he’s trying to hit and pitch. But [Thursday], just the overall body soreness and fatigue is something that, if we can manage that, it kind of gives us a chance to get through the next days after.”