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Shohei Ohtani is back in the Dodgers lineup for Sunday night’s series finale against the San Diego Padres, slotting into his usual leadoff spot as designated hitter, per Dodger Blue. He was held out of Saturday’s game due to a right bicep issue but had indicated he was feeling “considerably better” heading into the weekend. Tonight, he’s officially good to go — and he’s doing it on his 32nd birthday.

Ohtani’s absence Saturday was brief but noteworthy given how much this team leans on him. The two-way star has been the engine of the Dodgers’ offense all season, and any hint of a physical issue with him sends a ripple through the entire operation. The right bicep concern first surfaced after Friday’s game, where he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 4-3 comeback win over San Diego. He described it afterward as a mild concern, and that appears to have been an accurate self-assessment. One game missed, back in the lineup the next day. That’s about as good an outcome as we could have hoped for.

The timing matters here. Ohtani sat out a game in which the Dodgers had already identified a separate issue worth investigating — whether Roki Sasaki was tipping his pitches during Friday’s start, when the Padres seemed to be sitting on everything. Having Ohtani back in the lineup tonight gives us our full offensive punch as we try to take this series. The Padres are the kind of opponent where you don’t want to be running out a diminished lineup if you can help it.

I also think there’s something to be said about Ohtani’s durability profile. He’s managed a massive workload as a two-way player for years, and the occasional one-day maintenance absence is part of keeping him upright over a full season. The Dodgers have been smart about this — they didn’t push him Saturday, and now he’s back. That’s the right way to handle your most important player. No reason to grind him through a day game when you’ve got a Sunday Night Baseball showcase waiting.

With Ohtani back atop the order, the Dodgers should have their full complement of dangerous hitters for tonight’s finale. We saw what Enrique Hernández did on Friday with that grand slam, and getting Ohtani back setting the table only makes the rest of this lineup deeper and harder to navigate. Happy birthday to the man — now let’s go take this series.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: July 5, 2026 7:14 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers