The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to have averted a disaster with Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani offered an actual scare throughout Wednesday’s begin in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds at Nice American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The reigning NL MVP was pulled from the sport as a pitcher within the fourth inning after firing six consecutive balls (together with two wild pitches). You’ll be able to see the video of the regarding sequence from Ohtani here.
However about an hour after Ohtani’s exit, the Dodgers shared a optimistic replace. They revealed that Ohtani had merely left the sport as a pitcher as a consequence of “cramps,” per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Notably, Ohtani remained within the recreation as a hitter after exiting as a pitcher. That will seem like additional proof that he was solely coping with a minor situation.
Ohtani, who didn’t pitch in any respect for the Dodgers final season, was making simply his seventh complete begin of the yr on Wednesday. He was initially throwing just one inning per begin however had step by step been ramping up and made it into the fourth inning on Wednesday (sitting at 51 pitches on the time that he was pulled).
The apparent aim for the Dodgers is to have Ohtani absolutely wholesome as a pitcher in time for the 2025 MLB postseason. As such, it’s in all probability absolutely the best-case state of affairs for them that Ohtani was solely coping with cramping in opposition to the Reds (although the Dodgers do have countless other injuries to pitchers that they are still dealing with right now).
