Shohei Ohtani Pulled After 110 Pitches. His Explanation Might Not Calm Anyone Down.

Shohei Ohtani’s night on the mound against the Padres was already a grind. Then it got weird.

The Dodgers star lasted six innings, gave up seven hits and three runs, and needed 110 pitches to get through it. That’s a lot. Even for a guy who throws a baseball like it owes him money. When Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Ohtani in the seventh, the immediate reaction from Dodgers fans was fear. And honestly, who can blame them?

Ohtani said after the game that he felt something in his bicep during his last at-bat. He called it a minor issue. But the Dodgers have already ruled him out for Saturday’s game against the Padres. That’s two red flags in one sentence.

The bicep thing

According to reporter Jack Harris, Ohtani described the sensation as something that came on during his final plate appearance and disappeared quickly afterward.

“It went away relatively quickly,” Ohtani said, “so I expect that to happen again.”

That phrasing — “expect that to happen again” — is doing some heavy lifting. It could be nothing. Or it could be the start of something that forces the Dodgers to manage his workload differently down the stretch. The team is calling this precautionary, and they’re sticking to that story. For now.

A rough June for a Cy Young hopeful

Through April and May, Ohtani was borderline untouchable. His ERA sat at 0.49. That’s not a typo. He looked like a pitcher who could win 18 games and a Cy Young award in the same season.

June has been a completely different story. His ERA for the month ballooned to 3.28. For a guy of his caliber, that’s a massive jump. Against the Padres on Friday, his command was shaky. He struck out nine batters, sure, but he also let too many guys reach base. The pitch count got ugly fast. And when a pitcher who usually cruises through six innings needs 110 pitches to do it, something is off.

It’s worth watching whether this bicep thing is connected to the dip in performance. Could just be fatigue. Could be mechanics breaking down. The Dodgers have a lot riding on Ohtani — both arms, honestly — and they don’t have the luxury of ignoring warning signs.

The Dodgers are still a great team with Ohtani as a hitter. But their ceiling as a World Series contender depends on having both versions of him: the one who dominates on the mound and the one who changes games at the plate. If that bicep issue lingers, the lineup still works. The rotation might not.