SAN DIEGO — Shohei Ohtani was not in the Dodgers’ starting lineup against the San Diego Padres on Sunday because of back tightness that forced him to exit a game Saturday night.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said sitting Ohtani would be a precautionary measure.
Ohtani left after his fourth at-bat in a 5-0 win over the Padres on Saturday night. He went 0-for-3 with a walk, grounding out to the pitcher in his final at-bat in the seventh inning. He was replaced by pinch-hitter Enrique Hernández in the ninth.
“His back tightened up,” Roberts said on Saturday night. “So it was one of those things where I got word before his fourth at-bat his back tightened up. So, being up 5-0, we didn’t want to push it.”
Roberts said Ohtani’s back was feeling better and added that Ohtani did some activity on Sunday. He had said his concern was “minimal” after Saturday’s game.
Ohtani, who signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers last December, has been one of the best hitters in the majors this season. The two-time AL MVP leads baseball with a 1.090 OPS and is hitting .352, which ranks only behind Cleveland’s Steven Kwan (.353). Ohtani also has 11 home runs and 27 RBIs, both stats among the league leaders.
It is just the second time Ohtani was not in the starting lineup for the Dodgers this season. He was rested for a May 1 game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, one day after he struck out three times in a game.
Since that day of rest, Ohtani is batting a scorching .429 with four home runs and eight RBIs in eight games. On Monday, Ohtani was named National League Player of the Week.
He has been playing as a designated hitter while he fully recovers from a second Tommy John surgery.
The Ottawa Senators have opened up a nice gap as the first wild card, with 75 points and 26 regulation wins in 65 games. Beyond them, things get interesting.
If it comes down to the regulation-wins tiebreaker at season’s end, the Rangers have an upper hand over all the rest, with 29 in that column, compared with 23 for the Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins, and just 22 for the Habs.
The Canadiens host the Panthers also at 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets face the visiting Rangers also at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
And if they have their sights set on catching the Senators, these clubs are all rooting for the Maple Leafs, who host Ottawa (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a great night for multiple streaming devices!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.
Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.
“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”
Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.
Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.
The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.