No All-Star Game, no pitching ... no problem: Ohtani hits 21st homer

LOS ANGELES -- Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his pitching start Friday against the Diamondbacks due to ongoing left knee irritation, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to build his case for a fourth consecutive MVP Award.

Serving as the Dodgers’ designated hitter in the Dodgers’ 9-3 loss, Ohtani opened the bottom of the first with a home run, his 21st of the season and eighth leadoff blast -- tied with James Wood for most in the Majors. Ohtani was jogging a bit gingerly around the bases after his solo shot.

Ohtani will DH throughout this weekend’s series at Dodger Stadium, but will not travel to Philadelphia for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

“It affects more of my pitching rather than the hitting side of the game, so that's the reason why,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, explaining why he can continue to hit -- and hit well -- despite skipping his start.

Ohtani will have his knee drained after Sunday’s series finale, which will give him four full days to recover before the Dodgers open the second half on Friday against the Yankees in New York.

“I found out yesterday morning,” said manager Dave Roberts. “Talking it through with our guys, Shohei. He’s been managing this quite well, the knee, and so if there’s a chance that we could be proactive and get it drained and do whatever we need to do to try to manage it, along with the rest for the All-Star break, we were going to do that.”

Roberts added that the injury would not affect Ohtani’s ability to pitch in the second half, though the team has not yet decided where he would slot back into the rotation after the break. He also said that Ohtani would have pitched through this injury if the calendar said October rather than July.

“The knee flared up; sometimes it calms down,” Ohtani said. “There’s a lot of just up and down, just seeing how the knee really handled the last couple weeks. And really, the decision was made to do the injection after seeing how the knee reacted over the last couple weeks.”

He said it’s possible the issue arose because of the way he plants his foot in his pitching motion, adding that he would adjust his mechanics to ease the pressure on his knee.

The National League’s leading vote-getter, Ohtani was slated to serve as DH for Roberts’ NL squad, but he was not going to be available to pitch. Ohtani has been nursing the knee discomfort since at least June 11, and Roberts said the team did not want to risk exacerbating the swelling with the altitude change that comes with flying. He also noted that Ohtani has cut back on his basestealing.

The four-time MVP and five-time All-Star has been navigating a few injuries this season, including a tweaked right biceps and a blister on his right hand in addition to his knee discomfort. Despite those maladies, Ohtani is sporting a .290/.403/.540 slash line with a .943 OPS to go with an 8-2 record and a 1.79 ERA, second in MLB only to Jacob Misiorowski (min. 80 IP).

Ohtani said that he believes the injuries are a result of typical fatigue, not necessarily due to his return to an increased workload as a full-time two-way player.

“I see the overall wear and tear, what’s been happening over the course of this year,” he said. “I believe it’s more of wear and tear. But in terms of the knee, I think it’s more of my pitching mechanics. That’s something I need to work on.”

Earlier this season, Ohtani had been open about his desire to add a Cy Young Award to his increasingly crowded trophy case. With Ohtani’s innings count already lagging behind other award contenders, missing even one start could hurt his chances.

Roberts said Ohtani’s willingness to miss Friday’s start is proof that he puts the team first.

“I think that No. 1, he’s always said, we’ve always said, the goal is October, for all of our players,” said the skipper. “With that, yeah, he’s had the Cy Young in mind, and understandably so. But nothing is going to come in front of being healthy for October. And so for him to concede and miss a start in the best interest of him and the team, that’s not a surprise. Those are two separate things, but No. 1 is being ready for October, and he’s always said that.”

Ohtani agreed that he could have started today, but said they decided against it after a long phone conversation on Thursday.

“The goal is to be able to throw according to a regular schedule,” he said. “Although I could’ve started today, it would’ve still been pushing the envelope a little bit. But my every intention is to use the off-days to make sure I’m in a good place to be able to be in the rotation.”