Ohtani Exits Game Due to Bicep Tension Amid Dodgers’ Victory

Chaos unfolded at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, but the home dugout faced unique concerns.

Shohei Ohtani stepped out of the game in the bottom of the seventh, being replaced by Miguel Rojas after a solid six innings where he allowed three runs against the San Diego Padres. This occurred right after Teoscar Hernandez hit a game-winning grand slam, which lifted the Dodgers to a 4-3 comeback win.

The reason for Ohtani’s removal? During his last at-bat, he felt some tension in his right biceps.

“We tightened him up a little bit,” manager Dave Roberts mentioned.

On a positive note, both Ohtani and Roberts seemed to downplay the injury’s seriousness, labeling Ohtani’s exit as a “precautionary” measure.

Yet, Roberts confirmed that Ohtani would be resting on Saturday to allow for “a full recovery and heal.”

“At that point, we just go from there,” he added, leaving it a bit vague.

Ohtani appeared physically fit during his performance, but despite tossing 110 pitches and striking out nine, he allowed nine runners—seven hits and two walks—which pushed his season ERA to 1.79, although he has a less impressive 4.38 ERA over his last four starts.

In his final at-bat, after a flyout to right field, he expressed some worry about his bicep in Japanese, saying, “I was a little worried.”

Interestingly, he mentioned experiencing similar discomfort in practice earlier this season but reflected, “I felt better relatively quickly then, so I think it will be the same this time.”

Roberts, when asked about Ohtani’s past bicep issue, noted with a hint of surprise, “I didn’t know about it until tonight because it was so benign. It didn’t keep him out of play.”

Regardless of Ohtani’s absence, the Dodgers rallied back from a 3-0 deficit in the seventh. After Padres pitcher Michael King had dominated for six innings, the Dodgers finally got to him with a leadoff walk by Mookie Betts followed by a single from Max Muncy. With a chance to load the bases, a grounder from Jake Cronenworth resulted in a double play against Kyle Tucker.

Then, Hernández stepped in and, on the first pitch, connected with a hanging slider, launching a grand slam. This moment brought perhaps the loudest cheer from the crowd all season.

As Hernandez flipped his bat dramatically rounding the bases, the energy at Chavez Ravine was electric, affirming the Dodgers’ stronghold on their division with a 14-game lead over the Padres, despite the uncertainty surrounding Ohtani.