Ohtani exits start early with cramps but avoids serious injury

CINCINNATI -- From his throw to his follow-through, Shohei Ohtani did not quite look right in the fourth inning of Wednesday night's start on the mound against the Reds. That prompted manager Dave Roberts to check on his two-way superstar midway through a plate appearance.

That spelled an early end to Ohtani's evening on the mound. But the Dodgers breathed a sigh of relief when they determined that he was dealing with cramping in his right hip, rather than something serious that could prevent him from making his next start.

"In the moment, very concerning, because I didn't know what it was," Roberts said. "Even when he went out, he said it was his hip. But when you hear cramping, then I feel much better. And talked to him, and he said it was the humidity. So I feel better knowing that.”

The Dodgers went on to lose, 5-2, after Spencer Steer put the Reds ahead with a two-run triple off Emmet Sheehan that James Outman kept in the park, but couldn't quite snag, with two outs in the eighth. L.A. still took two out of three from Cincinnati, which retained its status as the only Major League team that has not been swept this season.

On the eve of Thursday's 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline, the Dodgers were thankful not to find themselves with another need to address.

Ohtani said he first felt cramping in his right hip in the first inning, but he was able to push through the discomfort until it began to affect his delivery in the fourth, when he gave up a leadoff single to Noelvi Marte, walked Tyler Stephenson on four pitches (including two yanked fastballs that allowed Marte to advance to third) and got to 2-0 on Spencer Steer before Roberts came out to check on him.

Ohtani remained in the game as the designated hitter (going 0-for-5) after throwing 51 pitches (32 strikes) while pitching into the fourth inning for the first time as a Dodger. He felt that the cramping did not affect him at the plate.

"I don't play defense. I think that helped," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "But also at the same time, we were playing a close game so I wanted to help the team win."

Anthony Banda relieved Ohtani and allowed one of the inherited runners to score on a sacrifice fly. Ohtani struck out four against two walks and allowed a pair of runs on five hits, also having given up an RBI single to Elly De La Cruz in the first inning.

Ohtani has made seven starts on the mound for the Dodgers this season after spending much of the past two years rehabbing from a September 2023 procedure to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He did not go on a Minor League rehab assignment before returning to the mound and is essentially still rehabbing at the big league level.

As a pitcher, Ohtani holds a 2.40 ERA across 15 innings this season. As a hitter, he leads the National League with 38 homers, trailing only the Mariners' Cal Raleigh (41) overall.

Ohtani was scheduled to pitch four innings for the first time on Wednesday, as well as in his next start as a pitcher -- which should come next Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. Even though he didn't make it through four innings due to his early exit, Ohtani said he's still where he wants to be in his buildup.

"The good thing about today's outing is my pitch count was where I wanted it to be," Ohtani said. "This is a step forward. I didn't really feel great, to be honest, physically, the last couple days."

Both Ohtani and Roberts felt that the heat and humidity in Cincinnati -- it was 90 degrees at first pitch -- were at least partially the cause of the cramping. Given that Thursday is a team off-day and that Ohtani will have ample time to recover, there's not much concern that this issue will linger beyond the series finale at Great American Ball Park.

"He'll have a week," Roberts said. "It'll be at home, so there won't be humidity to deal with.”