Add The California Post on Google Amid absolute pandemonium at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, an unexpected cause for concern arose.
Shortly after completing a six-inning, three-run start on the mound against the Padres, Shohei Ohtani was removed from the game as a hitter in the bottom of the seventh, when Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for him shortly after a go-ahead grand slam from Teoscar Hernández.
The reason for Ohtani’s removal was not immediately clear, but the two-way star has been battling a knee issue over the last month — one that dated back to a pitching appearance in Pittsburgh on June 10 and forced him to miss a game later that same week.
Shohei Ohtani exited early on Friday night. Getty Images Granted, Ohtani did not appear to be laboring physically during his outing on Friday, though he did have to grind through an 110-pitch effort that gave him a 1.79 ERA on the season and a mediocre 4.38 ERA over his last four starts.
At the plate, Ohtani went hitless in three at-bats before his early exit.
No further information on Ohtani’s status was immediately available.
