CHICAGO — Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani stepped into the Rate Field batter’s box for the first time this series on Saturday, greeted by a smattering of boos from White Sox fans.
He took his first swing at the second pitch of the game. And he sent it into the right-field stands. A no-doubter, proclaiming that his availability was no longer in doubt.
Ohtani returned to the lineup for the Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the White Sox on Saturday, after exiting the Dodgers’ game Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and missing Friday against the White Sox because of inflammation in his left knee.
“I felt good waking up in the morning,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after going one for three with a home runs and three walks Saturday. “I feel good now. So I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go [Sunday] as well.”
Ohtani also tested his knee playing catch before the game Saturday. And the Dodgers will continue to monitor him as he prepares to take the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium.
“It wasn’t 100% today,” Ohtani said. “But with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start.”
Even Ohtani said he hasn’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the swelling. But he has a theory.
“All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren’t quite great in terms of my pitching side,” he said, “so I believe that had something to do with this.”
Even before Ohtani’s knee swelled the Dodgers planned to have him pitch the day before their Thursday off day.
They switched Ohtani and left-hander Justin Wrobleski in the rotation order, having Wrobleski pitch Thursday on regular rest.
That remains the plan, even after Wrobleski was hit in the leg by a comebacker during his start Thursday. He left the game after that play in the fifth inning with a bruised right hamstring.
The Dodgers considered bringing in a spot starter, manager Dave Roberts said, in order to keep the full rotation on extra rest.
“But considering how Wrobo’s start went short, feels good after it, we feel the four days’ rest will be fine for him,” Roberts said. “And then where Shohei is at, we feel good about just leaving it status quo.”
Ohtani returned Saturday without restrictions in his designated hitter role — except one request from his manager, after a couple days of parsing whether a steal attempt that was snuffed out by a foul ball had contributed to Ohtani’s injury.
Though they didn’t find a clear cause for the injury, Roberts made it clear Saturday: “There will be no basestealing.”
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