Shohei Ohtani Will Be Out of Dodgers Lineup on Tuesday vs Marlins

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani will only be a one-way star on Tuesday.

For the second time this season, Ohtani will pitch — and only pitch — in a game this season.

Manager Dave Roberts said before Monday's game that the team was considering having Ohtani just be a pitcher on Tuesday. After Monday's game, a 5-4 walk-off win, he confirmed it.

"He is not gonna hit tomorrow," Roberts said of Ohtani.

While he didn't give a reason in that moment, Roberts said before the game that there were a few factors weighing into the decision.

Firstly, Ohtani is starting on five days' rest, which is shorter than usual for him. While the Dodgers would have liked to have Ohtani pitch on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's day off, they decided to have Tyler Glasnow pitch on Wednesday, which is five days' rest for him.

Ohtani and Glasnow both on five days of rest was better than Ohtani on six and Glasnow on four.

Additionally, the Dodgers play a day game on Wednesday at 12:10 p.m. PT. The quick turnaround as a two-way player may have meant Ohtani would be forced to miss Wednesday's game altogether. This gives him a better chance to DH on Wednesday, and then get a full day off on Thursday with the rest of the team.

Who Will DH for Dodgers on Tuesday?

With Ohtani not acting as the team's designated hitter on Monday, it would make sense for the Dodgers to give Dalton Rushing a start, like they did the last time Ohtani only pitched two weeks ago against the New York Mets.

Rushing has been one of the team's best hitters this season, but has seen limited playing time as the backup to Will Smith.

Rushing is hitting .385 with an OPS of 1.441 this year. He's second on the team in home runs (seven) and third in runs batted in (16) despite playing in just 13 games.

Why is Shohei Ohtani Not Hitting When He Pitches?

The Dodgers came into the season with seemingly no intention of having Ohtani only pitch on his start days. However, after he was hit by a pitch two weeks ago, the team decided to only have him pitch against the Mets.

The results spoke for themselves, as Ohtani struck out 10 across six innings of one-run baseball.

The Dodgers did have Ohtani both pitch and hit in his next start against the San Francisco Giants. However, Roberts said the team would consider having Ohtani not do both in future starts.

“Yeah, I think so,” Roberts said last week when asked if it would be an option. “It makes a lot of sense that if you’re not hitting while pitching, it takes a little bit of a toll off. He certainly has managed it really well, but if it makes sense.”

Less than a week later, the Dodgers clearly felt it made sense.

Ohtani will now have an opportunity to add to his dominant pitching line this season, as he's allowed just one run over 24 innings for a 0.38 ERA.

He's also heating up with his bat as of late, raising his OPS to .898 with six home runs and 13 RBIs.

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