Shohei Ohtani leaves pitching start because of

CINCINNATI — The Dodgers misplaced the sport Wednesday evening.

What was more important, however, was that they didn’t lose their two-way star.

In the Dodgers’ 5-2 defeat to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, Shohei Ohtani left the mound alongside a coach in the fourth inning with what the workforce later stated was only cramping — a worrying scene in the second, rapidly alleviated by a seemingly benign harm announcement.

Ohtani remained in the sport as a designated hitter, going 0-for-5 on the evening.

The relaxation of the Dodgers’ lineup didn’t do a lot better, with Freddie Freeman’s two-run home run in the highest of the fourth inning representing their only scoring.

It was a half-inning later that Ohtani’s harm scare occurred.

After giving up just one run in his first three frames on a scorching, humid 90-degree evening in Cincinnati, Ohtani misplaced his command and regarded noticeably uncomfortable following a leadoff single in the fourth.

He walked Tyler Stephenson on 4 pitches, two of which missed so badly they received previous catcher Will Smith for wild pitches.

He began his next batter, Spencer Steer, with two more balls.

That prompted supervisor Dave Roberts, head athletic coach Thomas Albert and interpreter Will Ireton to come to the mound, where the 4 talked as the remaining of the infield gathered around them.

After a few moments, Ohtani then headed to the dugout, but not the clubhouse, to finish his outing after a season-high 51 pitches.

According to SportsNet LA sideline reporter Kirsten Watson, Ohtani was seen stretching out his decrease half in the tunnel behind the dugout after leaving the mound.

Then, in the highest of the fifth, he stepped out on deck as his spot in the batting order neared.

Tuesday was only the seventh pitching start of the season for Ohtani, who was restricted to DH duties for the first two and a half months of the season while finishing his restoration from a second profession Tommy John surgical procedure he had close to the top of the 2023 marketing campaign.

It was also the two-way star’s first time pitching into the fourth inning, after throwing one inning in each of his first two outings, two innings in the next two, and two more in his final pair of appearances.

Early in Tuesday’s recreation, Ohtani wasn’t utilizing his 100-mph fastball as typically as regular, opting as a substitute for sweepers on more than half of his throws. It didn’t appear to have a lot of an impact on his outcomes. After Gavin Lux doubled to lead off the sport, and Elly De La Cruz drove him home with a single, Ohtani posted zeros in both the second and third innings, retiring eight of his next 10 batters while racking up 4 strikeouts.

After exiting in the fourth, the Reds scored one of the inherited runners Ohtani left behind, giving him a last line of three-plus inning, two runs, 5 hits, two walks and 4 strikeouts. His season ERA is now 2.40 in 15 innings.

The rating remained tied 2-2 until the underside of the eighth, when Steer hit a go-ahead two-run triple off reliever Emmet Sheehan. In the 11-pitch, two-out at-bat, Steer stayed alive after Andy Pages dropped a fly ball up against the left-field wall in foul territory. Then, Steer whacked a 403-foot drive to middle, where James Outman climbed the wall for a close to home-run-robbery but failed to secure the catch for what would’ve been the inning’s last out.

The loss prevented the Dodgers (63-46) from finishing what would’ve been their first sequence sweep since the start of July. It ended a disappointing month that noticed the workforce go just 10-14, narrowing their lead in the National League West to just three video games.

Still, given the priority that initially accompanied Ohtani’s early exit as a pitcher, the day may’ve been so a lot worse.

The Dodgers now enter commerce deadline day still in need of a right-handed reliever, and probably one other hitter to spherical out their lineup — but also realizing their two-way star seems to be OK.