The Los Angeles Dodgers briefly panicked watching Shohei Ohtani go down. Ohtani became a scratch previously on Friday versus the Chicago White Sox. But his knee ailment proved to be a non-issue Saturday in ripping his latest home run.
The left-handed batter blasted his latest lead off home run inside Rate Field, pounding this four-seam fastball on the second pitch.
SHOHEI OHTANI LEADOFF HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/2DPm0BzPsF
— MLB (@MLB) June 13, 2026
Chicago’s Sean Burke landed on the wrong side of Ohtani’s home run that sailed 409 feet into the Chicago air. The two-time World Series winner is now approaching franchise history.
Ohtani smacked his 23rd career lead-off blast, now placing him third in franchise history. Except Ohtani needs 10 more to surpass teammate Mookie Betts for the LA record.
Ohtani experienced knee swelling before Saturday. The MLB Injury threatened his pitching status as manager Dave Roberts explained to reporters before facing the White Sox on Friday.
“I don’t think it’s going to affect, maybe the short term, depending on how he feels, you know. I expect him to make his start on Wednesday, and till I hear otherwise, I expect him to be in there either tomorrow or the next day until I hear otherwise,” Roberts told reporters.
"I expect him to make his start on Wednesday. I expect him to be in there either tomorrow or the next day, until I hear otherwise."
Dave Roberts speaks on Ohtani's knee injury ahead of today's matchup with the White Sox. Catch all the #Dodgers action on SNLA+ at no extra cost… pic.twitter.com/5XwuEzLxyy
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 12, 2026
Roberts, though, added how Ohtani looked “fine” on the batting side of things. Clearly it showed early on against the White Sox.
Los Angeles took an early 4-0 lead after Ohtani set the tone. Betts chipped an infield single toward second to set up the Dodgers’ next scoring run. Max Muncy followed by sending the baseball 415 feet to right center field, making it 3-0. Kyle Tucker later drove Betts home on his third inning RBI.
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