The Los Angeles Dodgers concluded the month of July with a game against the Cincinnati Reds and Shohei Ohtani taking the mound.
However, Ohtani threw six straight balls in the fourth inning. Trainers and Dave Roberts came to check on Ohtani, only to remove him from the game and turn to Anthony Banda.
Ohtani did stay in the game as the designated hitter, but shortly after, the Dodgers revealed why they removed him from the start.
"Dodgers say Shohei Ohtani exited his pitching outing with cramps," Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported.
This was just Ohtani's seventh appearance as a pitcher with the Dodgers after working his way back from surgery.
Coming into the game, Roberts had hoped Ohtani could go four innings, but he failed to record an out in the fourth before being pulled due to cramps.
In his recent start on July 21 against the Minnesota Twins, Ohtani went three innings, giving up just one run on four hits.
On Wednesday, he finished with two earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks in three innings and plenty of raised eyebrows after he was removed from the mound.
But, at least for now, it is an optimistic sign for LA that Ohtani was dealing with cramps and not another major injury. He would also take an at-bat in the fifth inning, although he struck out looking.
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