Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani returns to lineup after 4-day break but won't pitch again this season

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk in his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup Monday night after a four-day break to deal with lingering left knee and right biceps soreness. The two-way superstar isn't expected to pitch again this season.

He was in his usual leadoff spot as the designated hitter for the series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, a 6-3 win by the Dodgers.

“I'll be focusing on hitting,” Ohtani said through a translator after the game. “I'm confident that my overall performance should be better moving forward. The thing that I was more focused on was to make sure that the pitching wouldn’t cause the worse scenario, which was for me to not be able to play at all.”

Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3 and hasn’t thrown since a bullpen session in Detroit on Aug. 28.

Speaking to the media for the first time in three weeks, Ohtani said he's disappointed not to be pitching.

“But I want to make sure that when I look back this season that I use this as a learning experience and use that as something to improve upon for next season,” he said.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would see how Ohtani felt after the game before deciding on his status for Tuesday.

“It was certainly good to get him back out there, but there was certainly nothing to kind of write home about,” Roberts said. “To take four days off, to come out of it feeling good, I think that’s a win in itself.”

The NL West-leading Dodgers won all four games during Ohtani’s absence, including a sweep of the Washington Nationals.

By taking pitching off Ohtani's plate, the Dodgers hope the four-time MVP will lock in on hitting and get back on track after not appearing to be himself at the plate.

“As long as I’m playing in games, it’s not exactly the best way to recover and heal,” Ohtani said. "Of course, the best mode of recovery is to completely not play. But right now I just want to make sure that I’m playing, playing well and just focusing on the now.”

Ohtani is hitting .277 with 30 homers and 80 RBIs this season. Since the All-Star break, however, he’s batting .246 with eight homers and 22 RBIs in 42 games.

“Yes, he loves pitching, loves being a two-way player,” Roberts said before the game, “but right now it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s more of what’s best for the team, number one, and 1A, what’s best for him."

Utility player Tommy Edman took Ohtani's place as the leadoff hitter for four games. He went 7 for 17 (.412) with one home run, four RBIs and five runs. Edman started at second base and batted third on Monday.

Asked why he doesn't move Ohtani out of the leadoff spot, Roberts replied: “I think he’s our best hitter. I think the best player should have the most latitude. Is it forever? I don’t know. Is it until the end of the season? I don’t know yet.”

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, walks back to the dugout after striking out as Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson throws the ball back during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani flies out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani walks back to the dugout after striking out as during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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)

ENSENADA, Mexico (AP) — Three men charged with murder in the 2024 killings of two Australian brothers and an American friend went on trial Monday in Mexico’s Baja California state, court officials said.

The three men are charged with murder and aggravated robbery in the killing of the three people who went missing while camping and surfing at a remote beach in Baja.

Jesús Gerardo García, known as “El Kekas,” and two others identified as Irineo Francisco N. and Ángel Jesús N. appeared in court in the coastal city of Ensenada over the deaths of Callum Ryan Robinson, 33, Jake Martin Robinson, 30 and Jack Carter Rhoad, 30. The surnames of the latter two defendants were withheld in according with Mexican criminal procedure.

Their bodies were found several days later, dumped in a cliff-top shaft with gunshot wounds to their heads.

Martin Robinson, the father of the Australian brothers, attended the hearing with his wife.

“I know they would want us to be here; they would do the same for us,” he told reporters before entering the courthouse.

Prosecutors say the men were killed during an attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was later found burned near their bodies.

García former partner, Silva Raya, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year after admitting she instigated the robbery to steal the pickup’s tires.

The trial is due to continue Tuesday.

Martin Robinson, the father of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, leaves a courthouse in Ensenada, Mexico after the trial of men accused of murder in connection with the deaths of two Australians and a U.S. citizen, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Tashiro Malekium)