Ohtani throws 5 hitless innings but bullpen dooms Dodgers again - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — In the brief moment between when Shohei Ohtani completed his fifth inning of no-hit baseball as a pitcher and prepared to lead off the next half-inning as a hitter, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seized on an opportunity to gather intel.

Ohtani had required only 68 pitches Tuesday night to accumulate 18 outs against the Philadelphia Phillies, who feature one of the sport's most imposing lineups. The sixth inning qualified as uncharted territory in his return from a second elbow repair. But when Roberts asked Ohtani how he felt, the two-way star answered in the affirmative.

It didn't matter.

Ohtani exited as a pitcher, then watched as rookie left-hander Justin Wrobleski surrendered a four-run lead to a string of five batters. Three innings later, after Ohtani clobbered his 50th home run, Blake Treinen surrendered a game-winning three-run homer to No. 9-hitting backup catcher Rafael Marchan, handing the Dodgers another loss in another back-and-forth game against the Phillies. This last one, decided by a 9-6 score, cast more doubt on the team's bullpen and raised additional questions about how long the Dodgers might push Ohtani in October.

Roberts said he only asked Ohtani how he felt in the middle of the fifth because he wanted to collect information «for the future.»

The present had already been decided.

«He wasn't gonna go back out,» Roberts said. «We've been very steadfast in every situation as far as inning for his usage — from one inning to two to three to four to five. We haven't deviated from that. So I was trying to get his pulse for going forward, where he's at, continuing to go to the sixth inning. And he says, 'Feel OK.' That was good. But I'm not gonna have a plan for five innings, and then he