Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts explains reason behind Shohei Ohtani’s lineup change, no clear timeline for pitching appearance

The Los Angeles Dodgers made a late lineup change on Wednesday before their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shohei Ohtani, who was supposed to start the game, played only as a designated hitter.

The Dodgers had Ohtani taking the mound in the second game of the series against the Pirates. However, the Japanese two-way phenom was scratched from his scheduled start with Emmet Sheehan getting the nod.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shared the reason behind the lineup change on Wednesday. Roberts said Ohtani was "under the weather," dealing with a chest cold.

"When you’re sick and potentially dehydrated," Roberts said, "[we were] just feeling like the tax of pitching in a game, it wasn’t worth it."

Roberts expects Ohtani to pitch sometime at the weekend, ruling out a potential showdown against NL Cy Young contender Paul Skenes in the series finale on Thursday.

Sheehan, making his first start since Aug. 25, was rocked early as the right-handed pitcher conceded two runs in the first two innings of the game. While he didn't concede after that, Sheehan lasted 4.2 innings from the mound, allowing two earned runs, five hits, and six strikeouts.

Dave Roberts surprised by Shohei Ohtani's incredible landmark

While Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-5 on the night, it was a frustrating game for the Dodgers offense as they were blaked by the Pirates pitching staff for a 3-0 loss.

In Tuesday's game, Ohtani made history by reaching his 100th home run with the Dodgers. His 46th home run of the season took him to the century mark for the franchise in 294 games. Only Mark McGwire (230 games) and Babe Ruth (250 games) got to 100 homers faster than Ohtani.

It wasn’t on my radar,” Dave Roberts said. “I’m not surprised by it, but I guess I was just more of, I don’t know what to expect. Just happy to have him in a Dodger uniform and we’ll see how it plays out. He’s just had an incredible run in a short period of time.”

The Dodgers will have Blake Snell on the mound against Paul Skenes as the reigning World Series winners will look to avoid a series sweep on Thursday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash