Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 56F. W winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 56F. W winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: July 17, 2026 @ 4:09 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had a lubricant injected into his left knee, but the Dodgers two-way star did not have fluid drained, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said Friday.
Ohtani was in the starting lineup leading off as the designated hitter in Friday's second-half opener against the New York Yankees. The four-time MVP is not slated to pitch this weekend and likely will make his next start Wednesday at Philadelphia.
Roberts said Ohtani had the procedure after Sunday's game against Arizona. Ohtani last pitched on July 3.
“It gives him some relief in his knee, which we were hoping to get, and then the four days off from activity, which gets it all to kind of settle in,” Roberts said. “I think we are certainly more prepared to back off on the workload if it calls for it, but Shohei wants to be out there as much as he possibly can.”
Ohtani is batting .293 with 22 homers and 58 RBIs while going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings over 14 starts on the mound. The four-time MVP skipped Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.
“Part of his wear and tear, just part of being an athlete, being a baseball player, the running, the pitching, the swinging of the bat, all that stuff has effects on the body,” Roberts said.
He will try to give Ohtani days off after his pitching starts if possible.
“Safe to say that even if there isn’t an off day behind it, I would like to give him that next day off,” Roberts said. “So ideally, yeah, he would have the scheduled off day behind it. But that’s not always possible, kind of with the schedule and also where he’s at.”
Ohtani probably will throw off a mound in the next few days to test the knee. He has been landing more in an open stance to lessen torque on the left knee, which Roberts said likely will not need offseason surgery.
Roberts said he doesn't know whether catcher Will Smith, who hasn't played since June 5 because of neck inflammation, will return this season but hopes the three-time All-Star can contribute this year. Roberts said Smith “didn’t feel like he was making any improvement.”
“He’s taking a week, at least a week of just really doing no activity to hopefully calm his neck down, to then build up,” Roberts said. “Early on we’ve been trying to get him ready, moving around, doing some baseball stuff, but he hasn’t been able to get over the hump.”
Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz, recovering from surgery on April 22 to remove loose bodies from his right elbow, was to pitch Friday in his third minor league rehab appearance and then throw again Sunday.
“He’s got to assure us that he’s in a good spot to close out,” Roberts said.
Left-hander Blake Snell, sidelined since his season debut on May 9 because of loose bodies in his pitching elbow, is to start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Tyler Glasnow, a right-hander out since May 6 because of lower back spasms, has been throwing bullpens.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Clarity Before Crisis: Living Benefits Insurance and knowing your options when health needs … Read moreThe Trousdale Educational Seminar- Clarity Before Crisis: Living Benefits Insurance and Options
Pickleball Read morePickleball
Dirk van Ulden said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.