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Shohei Ohtani will not start in Thursday’s series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks, per Dodger Blue. The decision comes after Ohtani was in the lineup Wednesday night for his third consecutive pitching start. Manager Dave Roberts explained the thinking: with a recent off day providing some built-in rest, and Ohtani swinging the bat well, the team feels comfortable giving him a breather before the schedule picks back up.

Ohtani has been on an absolute tear at the plate recently, and that’s exactly what makes this the right time to sit him. When a player is locked in the way he’s been — driving the ball, seeing pitches well, carrying the offense — there’s a temptation to ride it until the wheels fall off. Roberts is doing the smart thing here. Ohtani’s workload as a two-way player is unlike anything else in baseball. He’s pitching and hitting in the same lineup on a regular basis, and the cumulative toll of that across a 162-game season is something the Dodgers have to manage carefully. Three straight starts on the mound while also taking his at-bats is a heavy stretch, even for someone with Ohtani’s conditioning.

This is the kind of rest day that doesn’t happen because something is wrong — it happens because you want to keep things from going wrong. Ohtani came to Los Angeles before the 2024 season on a historic 10-year, $700 million contract, and the organization has every reason to protect that investment while also maximizing what he gives them on the field. Last year was his first full two-way season as a Dodger after recovering from elbow surgery, and the club has been thoughtful about his usage patterns ever since. A scheduled day off against Arizona, with the lineup deep enough to absorb his absence for one game, is textbook load management done right.

Roberts’ comments suggest confidence in the rest of the lineup to hold things down without Ohtani in the Thursday game. And honestly, they should be able to. This roster has enough depth that losing one bat for a single game — even a bat as important as Ohtani’s — shouldn’t sink them. The Dodgers have been playing well, Ohtani has been a huge part of that, and giving him a day to reset physically before the next series is the kind of move that pays off in September and October, not necessarily on a Thursday afternoon in June.

I like this decision. It’s proactive, not reactive. We’ve seen too many teams run their stars into the ground by mid-summer and then wonder why they’re dragging in the second half. Roberts and the Dodgers training staff have been deliberate about managing Ohtani’s schedule all season, and this fits that pattern. Get the rest now, come back Friday ready to go. Simple as that.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: June 4, 2026 5:03 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers