Shohei Ohtani Slammed His 13th Bomb Before His Knee Sent Him Home Early, And the League Noticed

Alright, Emerald City, listen up because the baseball world is buzzing, and honestly, it's a wild ride. Shohei Ohtani, the guy who's been crushing it all season, had to bail early from the Dodgers' Thursday game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He left in the seventh inning, officially day-to-day with left knee inflammation. But here's the kicker: his manager, Dave Roberts, came out swinging with an incredibly chill take on the whole thing.

A Day of Mixed Signals

Seriously, what even was that game? Ohtani was on fire, going 2-for-2 at the plate. He actually kicked off the scoring in the third inning with that solo shot, absolutely pulverizing a 3-2 sweeper from Mitch Keller and sending it over the wall in right-center. That was his 13th homer of the season, and it came right after he smacked a two-run blast in their 9-8 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday! The dude reached base four times before he had to exit. Santiago Espinal jumped in to take over as DH. You'd think losing a player like that would have Roberts sweating, right? Nope. Post-game, Roberts told everyone his concern level for Ohtani's knee was "not high." He said Ohtani hadn't even mentioned any issues until the sixth inning. Roberts explained they were "trying to be smart about it," listening to the trainer who noted "a little soreness behind the knee." He "wanted to be smart and not push it." And get this, Roberts is feeling "good about him being in there tomorrow" for the series opener against the White Sox, but they'll "just kind of see how he comes in" after the travel. Wild.

More Dodger Drama on the Mound

As if one superstar exiting wasn't enough, the Dodgers also lost starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski earlier in the day. This poor guy took a 96.2 mph comebacker right off his upper leg! THEN he collided with Bryan Reynolds on an infield single in the fifth. He was out of the game with a right hamstring contusion. Wrobleski had given up four runs on six hits, including two home runs, in his 4 2/3 innings on the mound. Roberts said Wrobleski was "fine" after the game, but apparently "more frustrated with his performance tonight and wanted to go deeper in the game." You gotta feel for the guy, getting absolutely shelled then taking a rocket off the leg. What a brutal outing, even if he's physically "fine."

So yeah, a weird night for the Dodgers, but with Ohtani's manager sounding like he's barely breaking a sweat, maybe it's not the sky-is-falling situation some folks might be screaming about. We'll be watching closely to see if Ohtani is indeed back in the lineup Friday night. Meanwhile, back here in the Pacific Northwest, our Mariners had a tough one, falling 7-5 to the Orioles. It's early in the season, folks, but every game counts as our guys work to set the tone for the long haul. Let's rally around our boys and see what they bring next, especially our sluggers Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez. Go M's!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.