LOS ANGELES — It’s not official. But it’s obvious.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged Friday that the decision to move back Shohei Ohtani’s start this week will make him unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game later this month.
“I think so,” said Roberts, who is the National League manager for this year’s game. “I haven’t formally said it. But if you just kind of do the math, it would be hard to imagine. But I don’t have to make that decision quite yet.”
The full rosters for the All-Star Game will be announced on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on FOX (Ch. 11). Ohtani has already earned the starting spot as the NL DH by leading all players in voting during the first phase.
Ohtani started Friday night against the San Diego Padres and is lined up to start again next Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That would put him on just three days of rest before the All-Star Game in Philadelphia. The Dodgers have asked him to pitch on as little as five days of rest just once this season.
Ohtani has only pitched in the All-Star Game once. He started for the American League in 2021 at Coors Field in Denver.
Roberts will have two strong options when choosing his starting pitcher even with Ohtani out of the mix – Milwaukee Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski or hometown Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez.
Ohtani had an 0.74 ERA through his first 10 pitching starts this season but has slipped since then. Over three starts before Friday, Ohtani allowed 11 runs (nine earned) in 18⅔ innings.
Dalton Rushing has been behind the plate for each of those starts, and the two were visibly at odds during Ohtani’s start in Minnesota last week.
“Some of it is Shohei hasn’t had his best stuff recently and that’s the truth,” Roberts said before Friday’s game. “The fastball command hasn’t been what it was earlier in the season. The sweeper hasn’t been the same. He’s started using the split a little bit more recently, which he was using a lot more earlier in the season. So there’s a lot of variables outside of just saying it’s the catcher.”
RUSH POWER
Rushing has been surging at the plate, going 8 for 18 (.444) with a double and two home runs in five games through Thursday. He hit just .179 (15 for 84) in 29 games before that.
Roberts gets some credit for the turnaround. Before last Saturday’s game in San Diego, he went to Rushing with some hitting advice, backed up by video.
“He’s taken it and run with it,” Roberts said. “It was just more of a cue on who he is as a hitter, getting back to finding his particular strike zone versus trying to chase the pitcher all around the hitting zone.
“I pulled some video to show when he is good and what he’s been doing the last couple months. … It kind of landed with him. I ran it by the hitting coaches, so I didn’t go rogue. I got their blessing.”
MAKING PROGRESS
After ruling both catcher Will Smith and utility man Kiké Hernandez out for a return before the All-Star break, both have made progress in their recoveries during the homestand.
Roberts said Smith has been throwing and even hit in the batting cage on Thursday. Smith has been out since June 5 with an inflamed disc in his neck.
Hernandez took batting practice on the field with the team Friday. He has been out since May 26 with an oblique strain suffered in his second game back after recovering from elbow surgery.
UP NEXT
Padres (RHP Griffin Canning, 1-5, 7.09 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 8-5, 2.67 ERA), Saturday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM