CHICAGO -- After missing one game due to left knee inflammation, Shohei Ohtani was back in the Dodgers' starting lineup for Saturday afternoon's game against the White Sox at Rate Field, when he hit a leadoff home run and drew three walks in a 7-1 victory.
Ohtani underwent imaging on his knee, which did not reveal any structural damage, after being removed from Thursday's game. The Dodgers gave him Friday off to be proactive, and they feel that he won't be limited by the knee moving forward.
"We took him out of the game the other night just for precautionary reasons. Yesterday, treated it up. Today he feels great," manager Dave Roberts said. "All the confidence that he can go out there and hit, feel good, not regress at all."
When Ohtani first felt discomfort toward the back of his knee in Thursday's game, the Dodgers initially believed he sustained the injury on a stolen-base attempt. Roberts later clarified that there was no single incident that caused the knee to flare up.
"It’s actually hard to pinpoint at what moment this happened," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren't quite great in terms of my pitching side, so I believe that had something to do with this."
Even if running was not the issue, Roberts would like to see his two-way superstar be mindful on the basepaths now that he's back in action.
"Absolutely," Roberts said. "There will be no basestealing."
The Dodgers also hope that this injury will also not affect Ohtani's next pitching start, which is projected to come against the Rays next Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani played catch before Saturday's game to test his knee.
"It wasn’t 100% today," Ohtani said. "But with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start."
In order to keep Ohtani on his weekly pitching schedule, Justin Wrobleski -- who also exited early due to an injury scare last Thursday -- will move up a spot in the rotation and pitch on four days' rest on Tuesday.
Ohtani not only leads the National League with a .979 OPS, he also leads Major Leaguers who have thrown at least 50 innings with a 1.06 ERA. Losing him on either side of the ball would be a huge blow to the Dodgers, but they believe that being proactive the past couple days will keep him on the field for the foreseeable future.