For five innings, Shohei Ohtani perplexed the Phillies. The Dodgers two-way superstar, in an eventual 9-6 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday, struck out five batters and walked one over five no-hit innings, utilizing 68 pitches to do so. So when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts approached Ohtani, as he told reporters after the game, and asked him how he was feeling, Ohtani replied, "I feel ok."
But Roberts opted to remove him from the game and turn a 4-0 lead over to the Dodgers bullpen, which promptly blew the lead. Despite the less-than-desirable outcome, the Dodgers skipper made it clear that the decision to remove Ohtani was one he had made in lockstep with the Dodgers' plan for the three-time MVP, who is pitching in his first season since 2023 after recovering from shoulder surgery in September of 2023.
