Ohtani makes his presence felt in return to lineup

LOS ANGELES -- The crack of the bat alone left little doubt about what Shohei Ohtani had just done.

After being held out of the lineup on Thursday due to some nagging soreness in his left knee, Ohtani returned to action as a hitter in Friday night's series opener against the Red Sox with authority. The two-way superstar launched a go-ahead two-run blast off lefty reliever Jovani Morán in the fifth inning, Ohtani's 24th of the season, although Boston had the last laugh by scoring five runs in the seventh to hand L.A. a 9-4 loss.

It was an unsightly end to the contest, but the Dodgers got away with using only four relievers in their scheduled bullpen game, with veteran left-hander Cole Irvin eating six innings -- and allowing six runs. L.A. was able to reset the 'pen for the final two games of the weekend series, which will be followed immediately by a three-game set against the Cubs before the Dodgers' first off-day in nine games comes on Thursday.

"It never feels good in it," manager Dave Roberts said. "But when you look back and go, OK, we sort of reset, gave us a chance to win a game. But you just can’t chase every single win, every single night. It’s not responsible. It’s just not the right process.”

L.A. trailed 3-0 after the first three innings of a scheduled bullpen game, with all three runs (one earned) being charged to righty reliever Will Klein. Ohtani was at the center of a short-lived midgame comeback. He led off the fourth inning with a double -- the Dodgers' first hit off Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez -- and later scored on a Freddie Freeman single.

Ohtani didn't look particularly comfortable on the basepaths, but he didn't have to test his knee quite as much the next time he reached base.

In the fifth, after Eliezer Alfonzo's RBI single brought the Dodgers within one run and chased Suarez from the game, Ohtani erased L.A.'s deficit by smoking a 2-1 changeup from Morán out to right field. His 24th homer of the season came off the bat at 112.1 mph and was his 133rd in his third season as a Dodger. Only three players have hit more homers in their first three seasons with a team: Mark McGwire (159, Cardinals), Alex Rodriguez (156, Rangers) and Babe Ruth (148, Yankees).

"I felt like we had a chance for a minute there," Roberts said.

The Dodgers held a one-run lead after five innings -- and squandered a chance to extend it by stranding the bases loaded in the sixth -- before the Red Sox stormed back in the seventh, stacking five runs on Irvin, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Oklahoma City for his first appearance in the Majors since 2024.

"Some nights aren't going to go your way," Irvin said. "And you've just got to be able to take it on the [chin] and keep going. And I can sit here and smile because all the work that I put into my season so far got me this opportunity, and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of the joy that I have right now. And yeah, it sucks to lose, but at the same time, I earned this opportunity."

Said Freeman: "It's on us to score more runs, and we just didn't do it today."

Lingering soreness in Ohtani's left knee has paused his pitching indefinitely, but he has said that it doesn't bother him as much as a hitter. He reported renewed soreness in the knee while undergoing treatment on Thursday, leading to him getting that game off.

It's possible that the Dodgers could be more proactive about managing Ohtani's regular-season workload moving forward, as an issue with his right biceps has also lingered. They would like to have Ohtani available to carry out his two-way role to the best of his capabilities deep into their bid for a World Series three-peat.

To that end, the Dodgers will be mindful as they monitor how Ohtani is feeling physically. As they look to help their two-way star sustain his success, they will have to be adaptable.

"I still think that it's kind of a day to day, read and react, and see how he is," Roberts said. "I can't sit here tonight and just say, ‘OK, he's going to be down on Sunday or Monday.’ But I think with any player, for the most part, some rest and feeling fresh isn't always a bad thing.”