Right-hander Shohei Ohtani shook his head slightly as he walked off the field, having escaped the fifth inning with just one run yielded, stranding the bases loaded.
He strode through the dugout and straight back into the tunnel, with time to go over adjustments before coming back out for the sixth.
That was a luxury he wouldn’t have had if he was also hitting in the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Marlins on Tuesday. His usual leadoff spot was coming up third in the bottom half of the inning.
“More times than not, it’s been fine,” pitching coach Mark Prior said in a conversation with The Times before the game. “But there are occasions where those conversations in between with the catcher or the staff doesn’t always happen. By him not hitting, it at least allows us to make sure that we’re hopefully, on the same page, and maybe we’re seeing things the same way.
“Obviously, one of the best hitters, so you like him in there offensively. But for the long-term goal of keeping them fresh all year, I think these are smart decisions when we can do it, when it makes sense.”
On Tuesday, the Dodgers (20-10) decided it made sense to have Ohtani just focus on pitching because he was pitching on five days’ rest, instead of his usual six or seven. It was already the second time this season that Ohtani had pitched without hitting. The first was two weeks ago against the Mets, two days after he was hit in the right shoulder by a pitch.
“Obviously having him do both duties, theory, practice it’s great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But how sustainable is it without kind of taking a little bit off his plate? That’s the question. And it’s not exact science.”
Taking the night off from hitting may provide immediate advantages. But it also removes the Dodgers’ most dangerous hitter, regardless of a general dip in offensive performance on pitching days, from the lineup.
The point is the larger picture.
“His goal is to make every start,” Roberts said. “And so with that there has to be some compromise and some openness to kind of read and react. So far, I think we’re doing a nice job, and he’s open to that.”
If the Dodgers had wanted to prioritize giving Ohtani six days between starts this turn through the rotation, they could have achieved that by having right-hander Tyler Glasnow pitch Tuesday on regular rest. But Glasnow is coming off pitching eight shutout innings against the Giants last Thursday.
“Given how we pushed Tyler, to have him go on regular [rest], it just didn’t make sense in total,” Roberts said earlier this week.
Pitching on five days’ rest for the first time this season, Ohtani wasn’t his sharpest on the mound, even with hitting taken off his plate. But he found a way through six innings, limiting the Marlins to two runs (one earned), despite five hits and three walks.
It was the first time Ohtani has given up multiple runs this season. He’s only given up two earned runs total.
The Dodgers offense, it turned out, could have used help.
They managed seven hits, three by catcher Will Smith. Two of the team’s hits were misplays by Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez to his backhand side.
After loading the bases in the first inning, the Dodgers didn’t get a runner into scoring position again until the eighth inning.
Alex Freeland started the rally with a single. And after Dalton Rushing — serving as the designated hitter in place of Ohtani — grounded into a fielder’s choice, Freddie Freeman and Smith sent back-to-back line-drive hits into right field to push across the Dodgers’ only run of the game.
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