Ohtani out of Dodgers' lineup for 3rd straight day with left knee and right biceps discomfort

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani sat out the Los Angeles Dodgers' game against Washington on Saturday as the two-way star deals with left knee and right biceps discomfort.

Ohtani was out of the lineup for three consecutive days for the first time since joining the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season on a $700 million, 10-year deal.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did report some progress, saying Ohtani took swings in the indoor batting cages Saturday after not taking swings Thursday or Friday. Ohtani did not report any discomfort.

Roberts will check on Ohtani's status Sunday before deciding if he will play in the series finale against the Nationals.

“It was good to see that during the game, all game, I think he was hitting,” Roberts said following his team's 6-5 victory over the Nationals. "I don’t know what intensity, but the hitting coaches said that he was swinging with some intent. So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

Roberts said Ohtani did not report any pain, but the Dodgers have not ruled out a stint on the injured list. If he goes on the IL by Sunday, the move can be backdated a maximum three days to when he was held out of a game against St. Louis on Thursday.

Ohtani has exclusively been a designated hitter since his last pitching appearance on July 3, but because he is designated as a two-way player, he would have a minimum 15-day IL stint.

“That’d be more of a deterrent,” Roberts said of an IL move.

Ohtani is 7 for 51 (.137) with one home run over his past 13 games. He struck out a season-high four times against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

“I feel that it’s gotten a lot better given his demeanor the last couple days,” Roberts said. “What I have learned about Shohei is when he doesn’t feel well, physically, he gets more short, and it’s just not the same personality, which makes sense. And so I think the last couple days he’s gotten a lot more loose and easygoing.”

After winning the NL MVP award the past two seasons, Ohtani is batting .279 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs in 129 games this year. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts and 85 2/3 innings as a pitcher.

Tommy Edman was moved to the leadoff spot in place of Ohtani for the third straight game. And after Alex Call was used as the designated hitter the previous two games, Teoscar Hernández was the DH on Saturday.

Edman put the Dodgers ahead with a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and Hernández had an RBI single in the first.

Dalton Rushing had been scheduled to be the DH, but he was scratched due to elbow discomfort. The catcher is set to undergo an MRI before Sunday's game.

The story has been corrected to fix the date of Ohtani’s most recent pitching appearance.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani gestures after stealing second base during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) strikes out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani walks to first base after being hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, center, looks on during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Miami had no problem passing its first test as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, and No. 18 LSU, No. 23 SMU and No. 24 Northwestern also cruised to easy wins in the early window of games Saturday.

No. 6 Indiana overcame a balky offense to beat Michigan in overtime, and the number of unbeaten teams dropped to four with No. 8 Texas Tech losing at Cincinnati.

The No. 1 team in the AP poll had lost the previous two weeks. Miami was never threatened against Pittsburgh, scoring on seven of its first eight possessions in a 52-23 win.

The Hurricanes' Darian Mensah threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns, with three of them going to Malachi Toney, who finished with 16 catches for 194 yards. Toney had 159 receiving yards in the first half, matching Pitt's total yardage through two quarters.

Sam Leavitt threw for 387 yards and three TDs in LSU's 38-17 win at Auburn, which was coming off its upset at Georgia last week. SMU scored touchdowns on its first six possessions of the second half while wiping out a 20-17 halftime deficit and routing California 59-20. Aidan Chiles threw for three touchdowns for the third time this season and rushed for two scores to lead Northwestern past Rutgers 42-14.

Indiana struggled mightily on offense against Michigan in its 13-6 overtime road win. The Hoosiers generated 212 yards, the second-fewest in Curt Cignetti's three seasons, and Josh Hoover was just 8-of-18 passing for 81 yards.

Cincinnati's 37-24 win over Texas Tech was the Bearcats' first victory over a top-10 opponent in five years. The Red Raiders had trouble controlling running back Cole Tabb, who ran 16 times for a career-high 173 yards. His 58-yard burst for a touchdown put the Bearcats up by 19 points with 6 minutes left.

-- No. 2 BYU, which has its highest ranking since its 1984 championship season, was favored by just 6 1/2 points at UCF.

-- No. 11 Tennessee, which had its only blemish in a three-point loss at Texas, was a 2 1/2-point underdog at South Carolina, which improved to 3-3 after its big win at Florida.

— No. 13 Alabama (5-2) hosted Texas A&M (4-3) without much margin for error as Kalen DeBoer's crew tried to end a two-game skid against a puzzling but talented Aggies team.

— No. 15 Iowa (5-1) climbed steadily from its preseason No. 22 ranking to No. 14 before it got handled by Ohio State. After an easy win at Washington and a bye week, the Hawkeyes were back in the middle of the pack just in time for a trip to Minnesota (4-2) for the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry game. The Gophers would love to win the pig trophy for just the third time since 2014 and deal a blow to Iowa's chances at a Big Ten title and CFP appearance.

No. 7 Mississippi (5-1, 3-1 SEC), led by star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, is a 3 1/2-point underdog for its primetime visit to No. 19 Texas (4-2, 1-2), which has lost two straight.

The point spread probably has something to do with the fact that Texas has the nation's 11th-ranked defense, but it will be put to the test by Chambliss, running back Kewan Lacy and receiver Deuce Alexander, who have accounted for a combined 2,725 yards this season. The Ole Miss defense also just held the conference’s leading rusher, Missouri’s Jamal Roberts, to just 39 yards last week.

That's not great news for a Texas offense with a scuffling ground game and questions about whether Arch Manning would even start against Grandpa Archie and Uncle Eli’s alma mater.

The late show is Houston (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) at No. 10 Utah (6-0, 3-0), with the Utes as 6 1/2-point favorites in the Big 12’s showcase game this week.

Utah is coming off a three-point win at Colorado and none of its opponents so far this season is better than .500.

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here

Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover (10) scores a touchdown during overtime in an NCAA college football game against Michigan, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)