By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk in his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup Monday night after a four-day break to deal with lingering left knee and right biceps soreness. The two-way superstar isn’t expected to pitch again this season.
He was in his usual leadoff spot as the designated hitter for the series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, a 6-3 win by the Dodgers.
“I’ll be focusing on hitting,” Ohtani said through a translator after the game. “I’m confident that my overall performance should be better moving forward. The thing that I was more focused on was to make sure that the pitching wouldn’t cause the worse scenario, which was for me to not be able to play at all.”
Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3 and hasn’t thrown since a bullpen session in Detroit on Aug. 28.
Speaking to the media for the first time in three weeks, Ohtani said he’s disappointed not to be pitching.
“But I want to make sure that when I look back this season that I use this as a learning experience and use that as something to improve upon for next season,” he said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would see how Ohtani felt after the game before deciding on his status for Tuesday.
“It was certainly good to get him back out there, but there was certainly nothing to kind of write home about,” Roberts said. “To take four days off, to come out of it feeling good, I think that’s a win in itself.”
The NL West-leading Dodgers won all four games during Ohtani’s absence, including a sweep of the Washington Nationals.
By taking pitching off Ohtani’s plate, the Dodgers hope the four-time MVP will lock in on hitting and get back on track after not appearing to be himself at the plate.
“As long as I’m playing in games, it’s not exactly the best way to recover and heal,” Ohtani said. “Of course, the best mode of recovery is to completely not play. But right now I just want to make sure that I’m playing, playing well and just focusing on the now.”
Ohtani is hitting .277 with 30 homers and 80 RBIs this season. Since the All-Star break, however, he’s batting .246 with eight homers and 22 RBIs in 42 games.
“Yes, he loves pitching, loves being a two-way player,” Roberts said before the game, “but right now it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s more of what’s best for the team, number one, and 1A, what’s best for him.”
Utility player Tommy Edman took Ohtani’s place as the leadoff hitter for four games. He went 7 for 17 (.412) with one home run, four RBIs and five runs. Edman started at second base and batted third on Monday.
Asked why he doesn’t move Ohtani out of the leadoff spot, Roberts replied: “I think he’s our best hitter. I think the best player should have the most latitude. Is it forever? I don’t know. Is it until the end of the season? I don’t know yet.”
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