Shohei Ohtani removed early after six-inning start in Dodgers worry

Amid absolute pandemonium at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, an unexpected cause for concern arose.Shortly after completing a six-inning, three-run start on the mound against the Padres, Shohei Ohtani was removed from the game as a hitter in the bottom of the seventh, when Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for him shortly after a go-ahead grand slam from Teoscar Hernández.The reason for Ohtani’s removal was not immediately clear, but the two-way star has been battling a knee issue over the last month — one that dated back to a pitching appearance in Pittsburgh on June 10 and forced him to miss a game later that same week.Granted, Ohtani did not appear to be laboring physically during his outing on Friday, though he did have to grind through an 110-pitch effort that gave him a 1.79 ERA on the season and a mediocre 4.38 ERA over his last four starts.At the plate, Ohtani went hitless in three at-bats before his early exit.No further information on Ohtani’s status was immediately available....