Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani wasn’t in the starting lineup Sunday night against the Washington Nationals, marking his fourth consecutive missed start due to right biceps, left knee and neck injuries.
Thus far, the Dodgers have resisted placing Ohtani on the 15-day injured list as required for two-way players, though manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that continued absences would make that a bigger possibility.
A complicating factor is that Ohtani has now missed enough time that the Dodgers would be unable to make an IL stint retroactively. He hasn’t played since going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
Roberts will meet with reporters prior to Sunday’s game in Los Angeles.
Ohtani, 32, is 2-for-23 with 11 strikeouts in his last six games. He is batting .279 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs in 133 games this season. His last homer was on Aug. 18.
Ohtani was among the National League Cy Young Award contenders in the first half of the season after going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts while pitching in a six-man rotation.
