LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani will make his scheduled start on the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Ohtani (6-2, 1.06 ERA) left a game in Pittsburgh with left knee inflammation. He missed the next day’s game against the White Sox in Chicago, then returned. This will be his first start since the injury in Chicago.
Roberts said the swelling in Ohtani’s knee had “completely dissipated.”
“I saw that he had just a catch-play right now,” Roberts said of Ohtani’s work. “He’s going to do his touchy-feely deal from the mound in a little bit. I saw him play some catch. Looks good, feels good. Look forward to him making a start tomorrow.”
The game against the Rays is an early afternoon start. It’s a tight window to prep and an early start.
“He likes his sleep. It’s certainly not ideal, but the calendar is the calendar,” Roberts said. “He’ll get his rest and do what he can to post tomorrow. … Anyone that has anything that has a potential red flag, we’ll certainly be watching closely. But again, he wouldn’t start if we felt that we were going to put him in harm’s way. He’s a competitor.”
After a 1-0 win over the Rays, Roberts said Ohtani would not hit.
In his last pitching start, Ohtani gave up four runs — three earned runs — in 6 2/3 innings and the Dodgers lost to Pittsburgh, 9-8.
Edman back in action
Utility man Tommy Edman was reinstated by the Dodgers following offseason ankle surgery.
Edman, who was the 2024 NLCS MVP in the Dodgers World Series championship year, will make his season debut soon.
“The good thing was, I saw progress with every step along the way. It just wasn’t as fast as I expected,” Edman said.
Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment.
