The Los Angeles Dodgers held Shohei Ohtani out of the lineup for Friday’s matchup with the Chicago White Sox, just a day after he left a game early with left knee inflammation.
Today’s #Dodgers lineup at White Sox: pic.twitter.com/UXcYziLCbA
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— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 12, 2026
The team pulled Ohtani in the seventh inning of Thursday’s victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates and announced that he would be getting imaging done on the knee to assess the injury.
Luckily, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said these images came back clean and showed no structural damage. Ohtani is expected to return to the lineup as a designated hitter this weekend.
Ohtani has dealt with issues in this knee before, including a season-ending patellar issue that required surgery in 2019.
So far this season, he’s recorded 13 homers and 40 RBIs while slashing .305/.421/.543. He’s also been elite on the mound so far, racking up 73 strikeouts in just over 67 innings with an ERA of 1.06.
The Dodgers need him to remain healthy now more than ever. With key pieces like Will Smit, Edwin Diaz, Mookie Betts and Tyler Glasnow all dealing with various injuries thus far, L.A. isn’t fully equipped to weather the storm without Ohtani.
Fortunately, his absence on Friday seems to be cautionary.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
