In addition to losing to the worst team in the National League West (the now 37-90 Colorado Rockies) on Wednesday evening at mile-high Coors Field in Denver, the best team in the NL West (the now 72-55 Los Angeles Dodgers) lost the best player in the game today – 31-year-old international superstar Shohei Ohtani – sort of.
The Oshu, Japan native and Dodgers’ superstar two-way player was struck on his right thigh with a vicious 93.7-mph comebacker off the bat of Rockies third baseman Orlando Arcia with one out and runners on first and third in the bottom of the fourth inning to give Bud Black‘s last-place Rockies a (then) 4-0 lead in their eventual 8-3 win over Dave Roberts‘ first-place Dodgers.
(SportsNet LA)
Roberts replaced his future first-ballot Hall of Fame starting pitcher in the bottom of the fifth inning but kept him in the game as his future first-ballot Hall of Fame designated hitter – sort of.
The Dodgers skipper ended up replacing Ohtani with pinch-hitter (and subsequent replacement left fielder) Alex Call in the top of the eighth.
Asked why he replaced Ohtani as his pitcher with his team down 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth but kept him in the game as his designated hitter until he was due up in the top of the eighth, Roberts answered:
“I took him out because a little bit of the score, a little bit, most part of it, because it was getting stiff and there was some swelling there. So, it was in the thigh fortunately and not off the knee, but it got him square, and so, right now, he’s getting treatment, and so, you know, I felt as the game was gonna go on, it was gonna stiffen up more.”
Unfortunately, while Roberts’ team was having their lunches handed to them by a team that they should have swept instead of losing two of three to (with one to go), their division-rival second-place San Diego Padres won their second straight game over the San Francisco Giants to pull to within one game of Roberts’ defending World Series Champions in the NL West:
On the – sort of – bright side, Dodgers right-fielder Teoscar Hernández slugged his 21st home run of the season in Wednesday’s losing effort, a 400-foot solo blast to right-center field with one out in the top of the sixth, so there’s that.
(SportsNet LA)
Following Thursday’s (very much needed) scheduled day off, Roberts’ Dodgers open a huge three-game series against the Padres at Petco Park (with the division lead very much at stake) before returning home for three against NL Central third-place Cincinnati Reds, followed by three against the NL West division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks following another (very much needed) scheduled day off on Thursday, August 28.
The very good news is the Roberts told reporters on Wednesday that he expects Ohtani to be in his starting lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Friars, presumably as his DH.
Very good news, indeed.
Play Ball!
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