Time for Dodgers to load manage Shohei Ohtani

In case you were wondering, no, Shohei Ohtani didn’t kill Dalton Rushing on Friday night.Didn’t scold him on the mound.Didn’t make any faces when the catcher’s pitch calls backfired.Which isn’t to say the Dodgers’ 4-3 victory over the Padres passed without incident.With Ohtani feeling his right biceps tighten in a sixth-inning at-bat, manager Dave Roberts had Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for the two-way player the following inning.Ohtani was originally scheduled to pitch two days earlier.

Delaying his start almost certainly decreased the physical burden on him — but by only so much.Ohtani looked gassed.He said he experienced a similar biceps flare-up a month or two ago, and that he was able to play through it then.He said it only bothers him when he hits.

Roberts described his removal as “precautionary” but wasn’t about to gamble with his health. Ohtani won’t be the Dodgers’ designated hitter Saturday, and Roberts said he is unlikely to pitch in the All-Star Game.At this point, Roberts might as well take it a step further.He might as well skip Ohtani’s last turn in the pitching rotation before the All-Star break.Roberts said he would consider it.“I think it should be on the table,” Roberts said.The time has come for the Dodgers to load manage Ohtani, however modestly.Ohtani wanted to pursue a Cy Young Award, and the Dodgers have let him.

But it’s becoming evident that Ohtani won’t pitch enough to be seriously considered for the prize.As a member of a six-man rotation, he’s on pace to throw fewer than 160 innings.

His only pathway to the award is to be almost perfect, and he’s been nowhere near that standard in recent weeks, as he was charged with 12 earned runs in his last four starts, including three in a no-decision Friday.He has a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand and swelling in his left knee, but the Dodgers have won seven of the last eight games he’s pitched.That has helped the Dodgers extend their lead o...