Shohei Ohtani brings his spotless 0.00 ERA into his start as a pitcher against the Mets at Dodger Stadium tonight (10 p.m. ET/7 PT on ESPN), but he is not in the lineup as the team's DH.
Ohtani has notably gone 0-for-7 since he was hit on the right shoulder by a David Peterson pitch on Monday night. Tonight's game marks the first time since May 28, 2021, that Ohtani hasn't hit during a pitching start.
The decision for Ohtani not to hit will not affect his 48-game on-base streak unless he gets a plate appearance in the game. He drew an intentional walk in the eighth inning on Tuesday to keep the streak alive.
Because Ohtani's not listed separately on the lineup card as a pitcher and DH, as he normally is for his two-way games, the Dodgers would lose the DH if they wanted him to get a plate appearance at some point in the game, which means Los Angeles' pitchers would need to bat for the rest of the night.
In a purely theoretical sense, Ohtani could transition from the mound to another position -- most likely in the outfield -- to get a plate appearance without the Dodgers losing the DH. The team batted around the idea of using Ohtani in the outfield heading into last postseason but never acted on it and there's practically no chance it happens tonight. Ohtani hasn't played the outfield since making seven appearances there with the Angels in 2021.
In all likelihood, Ohtani simply won't bat tonight.
Ohtani has been excellent on the mound this year, allowing just one unearned run over 12 innings across two starts, striking out eight against four walks.