Dodgers' Dave Roberts Reveals Why He Removed Shohei Ohtani From No-Hitter

May 18, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) and manager Dave Roberts (30) look on from the dugout in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered another brutal loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday evening, despite arguably the greatest baseball player on the planet throwing five hitless innings.

Superstar Shohei Ohtani looked sharp through a 68-pitch no-hitter through five innings.

Manager Dave Roberts asked if Ohtani felt good enough to keep going, to which he responded he felt 'okay,' but the skipper still pulled him from the game as part of the plan. The very next inning, the Phillies put up six runs on the Dodgers, and despite Ohtani's 50th home run of the year and a comeback from LA, the Dodgers now find themselves on the brink of a sweep.

Roberts spoke after the loss about standing by his decision to pull Ohtani.

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“He wasn’t gonna go back out,” Roberts said. “We’ve been very steadfast in every situation as far as inning for his usage — from one inning to two to three to four to five. We haven’t deviated from that. So I was trying to get his pulse for going forward, where he’s at, continuing to go to the sixth inning (in potential postseason starts). And he says, ‘Feel okay.’ That was good.

“But I’m not gonna have a plan for five innings (going into the game) and then he pitches well and say, ‘Okay, now you’re gonna go for six innings.’ He’s too important. And if something happens, then that’s on me for changing it, and we haven’t done that all year. So I’m not gonna do that right now. I would’ve loved to have had him go out there. But if our conversation was (before the game), ‘If he’s efficient, he can go to the sixth inning,’ that’s a different conversation. But it was a hard five innings.”

Ultimately, the decision doesn't belong to just Ohtani or Roberts. The front office, medical staff, and even Ohtani's agent (Nez Balelo) all contributed to the current plan in place.

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“It’s a plan that we’ve all talked about and laid out,” Roberts said.

Ohtani struck out five and walked just one batter on the night, but his performance will unfortunately be overshadowed by the decision to pull him from the game. If there is any consolation, the fact that Ohtani is pitching this well this close to October should be an extremely welcomed sight for fans.

Before getting to October, however, the Dodgers must ensure they are doing whatever they can to win in September. Roberts made the decision not to risk the health of both an elite pitcher and MVP-caliber hitter's health, but after a sixth inning meltdown, the game still goes down as a loss.

All the Dodgers can do at this point is try and take a game from Philadelphia on Wednesday, and continue looking towards playing their best baseball of the year during the postseason.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.