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Shohei Ohtani is out of the Dodgers lineup Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals as the team continues to manage his injury issues, per Dodgers staff at dodgerblue.com. The decision to rest him comes after his extra-inning loss Wednesday night, where his health concerns surfaced. The Dodgers are looking to avoid being swept in the series finale.

Ohtani has been dealing with multiple injuries this season — biceps and knee soreness have shadowed his recent performances, and the team has been cautious about his workload heading into the postseason. This rest day is part of that broader strategy to get him as close to 100% as possible before October. He’s still working through his pitching progression as well, which adds another layer to the team’s injury management calculus.

Sitting your best player in a game matters only if the alternative is worse. Right now, the Dodgers are clearly betting that one game against St. Louis is worth preserving Ohtani for what comes next. We’ve seen this pattern play out before this season — the team will rest him when they think it’ll help more than hurt. The question is whether this becomes a recurring theme down the stretch, or if a few days off resets him fully.

Source(s): Dodgers Staff (dodgerblue.com) | First reported: September 3, 2026 10:23 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers