Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Exits Friday's Game vs Padres Early in Concerning Development

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani has exited Friday night’s game against the San Diego Padres in a concerning development.

Ohtani pitched and hit on Friday night, throwing six innings of three-run ball.

However, when his spot came up in the bottom of the seventh inning — with LA up 4-3 — Ohtani was pinch-hit for by Miguel Rojas.

Ohtani threw 110 pitches across six innings on Friday night, allowing three runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts. It was clearly a laborious outing, but there weren't any signs of him having a potential injury.

At the plate, Ohtani was 0-for-3 on Friday night with a groundout and two fly outs.

Ohtani has been battling a knee injury which manager Dave Roberts recently said wasn't 100 percent healed.

Ohtani was initially scheduled to start on Wednesday, but had his outing pushed back two days to get him some additional rest.

Why Was Shohei Ohtani Removed From Friday's Game?

Ohtani told reporters after the game that he left the game for "precautionary" reasons after feeling something in his right biceps.

The Dodgers aren't concerned about the issue, but Ohtani will be out of the lineup on Saturday.

Dodgers Come From Behind vs Padres Again on Friday Night

The Padres were dominating the Dodgers through the first half of the game, with starting pitcher Michael King mowing through the lineup.

The Padres scored in the top of the first inning on a Gavin Sheets RBI single while King was perfect the first time through the order.

In the top of the fourth inning, Jackson Merrill homered for the second consecutive game to put San Diego up 2-0. Freddie Freeman then got the Dodgers their first base runner of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on a single, but was stranded.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Padres added another run against Ohtani on a Xander Bogaerts RBI double. After a shutdown sixth inning from King, it looked like San Diego was on its way to evening up the series.

However, in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out for Teoscar Hernández. He crushed the first pitch he saw to left-center field to turn the game on its head with a grand slam, giving LA a 4-3 lead.

The Padres had a 6-0 lead on Thursday. The Dodgers responded with 12 unanswered runs.

The Padres led 3-0 through 6 innings on Friday.

Then Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead grand slam.

The Dodgers are going to run away with the NL West this year. pic.twitter.com/3eLqbBklx0
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) July 4, 2026

After Dalton Rushing grounded out and Tommy Edman walked, Rojas pinch-hit for Ohtani.

Two innings later, the Dodgers ended up securing the win, further separating themselves in the National League West.

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