Shohei Ohtani removed from start in potential Dodgers concern

Shohei Ohtani gave Dodgers fans a scare when he exited Wednesday’s start in the fourth inning after throwing wildly for six pitches. 

The Dodgers’ superstar did remain in the game as a designated hitter, taking his at-bat in the sixth inning, where he struck out looking.

The team later announced that he exited his start because of cramps, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported.

Ohtani was in the midst of his seventh appearance on the mound since he returned from elbow surgery that prevented him from pitching all of last season. 

The early departure came in the middle of an at-bat after he had thrown six consecutive balls, which included two wild pitches and the last five pitches he threw had been clocked at 96 mph or faster. 

Statcast reported Ohtani’s fastball velocity had averaged 98.7 mph. 

Ohtani had entered the game with six appearances on the mound this season in which he registered a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of work. 

The Dodgers have been slow to ramp up Ohtani since he returned to the mound, keeping him to just an inning per appearance before moving to two innings and then recently increasing it to three innings. 

Ohtani had allowed a leadoff double to Gavin Lux in the first inning and Elly De La Cruz hit an RBI single to later score Lux. 

The two-way player allowed two earned runs on five hits in three innings while striking out four batters. 

Despite the cautiousness with his pitching, Ohtani has continued to be a threat at the plate. He has 38 home runs and 73 RBIs while hitting .272/.377/.612. 

Ohtani is in the second year of a massive 10-year, $700 million deal he signed with Los Angeles in December of 2023.