Shohei Ohtani (knee) expected to start Wednesday

He’ll be followed by Emmet Sheehan on Saturday and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Sunday. The Dodgers have not announced when Shohei Ohtani will return to the rotation. That makes it likely that it’ll be Justin Wrobleski and Eric Lauer in some order for the first two games against the Phillies in Philadelphia to open next week.

The homer came on the first pitch of the bottom of the first, giving him nine leadoff homers this season. Ohtani was scheduled to have his left knee drained after the game. He’ll sit out the All-Star Game, but he’ll probably be in the lineup when play resumes Friday.

Ohtani is slated to have his ailing left knee drained in addition to receiving a pain-relieving injection later this weekend and will miss next week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia as a result. The 32-year-old generational talent homered during Friday’s series opener against Arizona and will remain in Los Angeles’ lineup at DH. He added that the issue is impacting his performance on the mound more than at the plate and while he could’ve pushed through the issue he’s going to use the extra time off the be ready for the second half.

Of course he did. It was one of those pretty much only he can hit, too, as he took a fastball low and a few inches inside from Eduardo Rodriguez and somehow sent it out of the opposite field. He also had a 370-foot flyout in the fifth. Ohtani has 21 homers this season. Unfortunately, with Ohtani unable to take the mound tonight, seven Dodgers relievers combined to five up nine runs in 9-3 loss.

He still didn’t give any sort of timeline on how long Ohtani will be held off of the mound for, but he did note that if this were September that Ohtani would still be pitching. Take that for what it’s worth. It sounds like he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list altogether, though it seems likely that he’ll miss at least a couple of trips through the Dodgers’ rotation.

The Dodgers also announced that the 32-year-old two-way superstar will not play in next week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia. It doesn’t sound like there are any plans to place Ohtani on the injured list, and the plan as of now is to have him continue serving as the club’s designated hitter for their weekend set against the Diamondbacks. It just may keep him off of the mound for a while.

Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer off Michael Lorenzen to put the Dodgers on the board. It was a 112.2 mph shot to center field, going 409 feet. The 32-year-old star is up to 20 homers, 62 runs scored, and 56 RBI while slashing .294/.409/.541 across 391 plate appearances.

It’s a reassuring update after Ohtani dealt with a right biceps issue last week. The 32-year-old two-way superstar struck out nine and allowed three runs over six innings against the Padres last Friday before exiting that contest with biceps tightness. Roberts added that he doesn’t anticipate Ohtani participating in the All-Star Home Run Derby or pitching in next week’s Midsummer Classic, but could see him getting an at-bat or two in the contest.

Ohtani had a 112-mph lineout in the first inning tonight, but he made up for it with a homer off Kyle Freeland in his next at-bat. He has 19 homers on the year, and he’s tied for fifth in the majors with 61 runs scored and sixth with 59 walks.

Ohtani went 1-for-3 with an RBI in his return to the lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Padres following a one-game absence due to biceps discomfort. The 32-year-old two-way superstar’s workload will probably need to be managed closely in the second half if the Dodgers are going to keep him healthy for the postseason. It’s undoubtedly a positive sign that he’s not missing any additional game action following an injury scare over the weekend.