Shohei Ohtani will skip his scheduled pitching start Wednesday against the Athletics so the Los Angeles Dodgers can give him extra rest during a stretch of 13 games in 13 days. Manager Dave Roberts said the club will use a bullpen game in Ohtani’s absence, another reminder that even the biggest stars get bent around the demands of the schedule machine.
The Dodgers beat the Athletics 9-3 on Tuesday in West Sacramento, Calif., behind Tommy Edman’s first home run of the season and Dave Roberts’ 1,000th career managerial win. Edman had four hits and four RBIs, and Miguel Rojas also homered as Los Angeles won its fourth straight game and seventh in eight games. Mookie Betts added three hits. The numbers pile up. The bodies do too.
Who Gets Managed, Who Gets Used
Roberts said the Dodgers wanted to make sure the Japanese sensation got a break. Ohtani is slated to pitch in San Diego on Friday and will be the Dodgers designated hitter for the series finale against the A’s on Wednesday. Roberts said, “If there’s any opportunity to give him some extra rest, we’re going to try to take advantage of it,” and added, “So pushing him to Friday allows us to have him still take two starts before the break and get on two division opponents. In that vein, there’s just no downside. This made too much sense.”
He also said, “It’s mostly schedule-driven,” and, “We talked to Shohei and he was agreeing to whatever we felt, knowing it’s best for him. There’s no downside with him losing starts, get more rest. That was the whole driver.” The language is tidy. The control is obvious.
Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.58 ERA in 13 starts this season. He has 82 strikeouts and 24 walks in 79 2/3 innings. Those are the kind of numbers that make the club’s decisions look rational, even when the whole setup is built on squeezing performance out of people game after game.
The Workload Behind the Win Total
Edman, who missed the first 73 games of the season recovering from right ankle surgery, crushed a first-pitch slider from A’s starter Jeffrey Springs for a three-run homer in the third inning. He also had a hit in the fifth and added an RBI single in the seventh. Rojas connected for a solo shot in the sixth. The Dodgers led 2-0 in the first inning on Betts’ RBI single and Teoscar Hernandez’s sacrifice fly.
Justin Wrobleski, who started for the Dodgers, had a career-high 11 strikeouts in seven innings and allowed three runs and seven hits without a walk. Brock Stewart and Wyatt Mills retired three batters apiece. The pitching staff kept the line moving while the club kept stacking wins.
Roberts became the fastest manager in history to reach 1,000 wins and the 69th manager in history to do it. He reached the milestone in 1,606 games. Cap Anson, the next fastest, needed 1,641 games and won his 1,000th in 1893. The milestone belongs to the manager. The labor belongs to everyone else.
What the Scoreboard Hides
Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers reached on an infield single in the bottom of the inning and scored from first on Jonah Heim’s single over the head of right fielder Kyle Tucker. Jeffrey Springs allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. Colby Thomas homered for the second consecutive game for the A’s. A’s right-hander J.T. Ginn, who is 6-4 with a 3.15 ERA, is scheduled to pitch the series finale Wednesday, and the Dodgers have not named an opener.
The Dodgers’ fourth straight win and seventh in eight games sit beside the same old hierarchy: managers making the calls, players absorbing the workload, and the schedule dictating who rests and who goes back out there. Even the break comes from above.