Dave Roberts Reveals Why Shohei Ohtani's Start Was Pushed Back by Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that two-way star Shohei Ohtani will not make his scheduled pitching start on Wednesday against the Athletics.

Instead, Ohtani's start has been pushed back to Friday for the team's home game against the San Diego Padres.

Ahead of Tuesday's game against the Athletics, manager Dave Roberts explained the rationale for the decision. He said the team only planned for Ohtani to make two more starts before the All-Star break, and this doesn't change that, but allows him some additional rest.

The Dodgers play 13 games in 13 days, and this allows him two extra days of rest and to pitch against two division rivals in the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Dave Roberts said pushing Ohtani back was about getting him some extra rest during this stretch of 13 games in 13 days. He'll still be able to make two starts before the All-Star break.
Bullpen game tomorrow. Roki Sasaki starts Thursday. https://t.co/6tVjUYG9Fi
— Sonja Chen (@SonjaMChen) June 30, 2026

Ohtani got off to a historically dominant start as a pitcher this season, sporting a 0.74 ERA through his first 10 starts (61 innings).

However, he's hit a bit of a rough patch as of late, allowing nine earned runs over his last three starts (18.2 innings).

His season ERA is up to 1.58 with 86 strikeouts over 79.2 innings of work.

Why is Shohei Ohtani Struggling as a Pitcher Lately?

There are a few factors that could be leading to Ohtani's recent struggles.

Firstly, Ohtani has been dealing with a blister on his pitching hand for the better part of the last month. While both Ohtani and Roberts have said the blister isn't making an impact, the results appear to say otherwise.

In addition to the blister, Ohtani has also been dealing with a knee injury that forced him to exit the team's June 11 game and miss the following contest. Roberts said this week that Ohtani's knee still isn't 100 percent, which could be affecting his performance.

Finally, Ohtani has been pitching to catcher Dalton Rushing over his last three starts after throwing to Will Smith for his first 10.

Ohtani and Rushing haven't been on the same page, and that was evident in Ohtani's most recent start in which he and his catcher had a public disagreement and a cross up in the second inning.

Shohei Ohtani with Will Smith as his catcher this year: 10 G, 5 ER, 0.74 ERA

Shohei Ohtani with Dalton Rushing as his catcher this year: 3 G, 9 ER, 4.34 ERA pic.twitter.com/BltB2rBqxF
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) June 25, 2026

After that game, Rushing took accountability for his actions, and vowed to be better moving forward. As of this weekend, Roberts hadn't yet decided if Rushing would catch Ohtani's next start, but said he "most likely" would.

Smith is unlikely to return before the All-Star break, meaning the Rushing/Ohtani pairing would have to continue unless LA decided to start Chuckie Robinson behind the plate.

Thus, it's imperative the battery mates get on the same page sooner rather than later — and these extra few days before Ohtani's next start could help them do just that.

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