Shohei Ohtani News: Should go five innings Wednesday

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Ohtani will make his next start as a pitcher Wednesday versus the Rockies at Coors Field and will be targeted for five innings, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Through his first nine starts as a pitcher coming back from September 2023 Tommy John surgery, Ohtani has turned in a stellar 3.47 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 32:5 K:BB across 23.1 innings, but because he hasn't worked at least five frames in any outing, he has yet to qualify for a win. Assuming he's able to avoid a blowup at Coors Field and reaches the five-inning benchmark, Ohtani should have a good chance at coming away with his first win of the season if he's able to exit the game with the Dodgers in the lead. Ohtani will continue to serve as the Dodgers' designated hitter Wednesday, though Roberts is contemplating giving the two-way superstar a breather for a day game in Thursday's series finale.