Shohei Ohtani skips bullpen session and won't throw off mound until irritated left knee feels 100%

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani skipped a tentatively scheduled bullpen session Saturday and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the two-way superstar won’t throw off a mound again until his irritated left knee feels 100%.

>“We’re just going to kick the can,” Roberts said before his team played the New York Mets. “I think like I said yesterday, we’re not going to move forward until he feels 100% confident (and) we feel 100% confident that we should do it.”

>Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3. But the Dodgers say his knee doesn’t bother him while batting, and the four-time MVP has remained in the starting lineup regularly.

>The two-time defending World Series champions began the day with the best record in the majors at 66-38 and an 11-game lead in the NL West over Arizona.

>Ohtani received a lubricant injection just before the All-Star break and Roberts said last weekend it would be “some time” before Ohtani makes his next appearance as a pitcher.

>The right-hander then threw about 30 pitches off a mound Wednesday during a bullpen session in Philadelphia, but Roberts said Ohtani felt a “little bit of regression.”

>“It was obviously not ideal, him throwing his last bullpen and going backwards essentially,” Roberts said. “So obviously that’s disappointing because you throw a bullpen, you continue to build up. So that was disappointing, but as far as worry, concern, we don’t have any of that.”

>Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings over 14 starts on the mound this season and has won his past six decisions. He entered Saturday batting .286 with 22 homers, 61 RBIs and a .920 OPS.

>In other injury updates, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell made a second rehab start Friday night for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

>Sidelined since his season debut May 9 because of loose bodies in his pitching elbow, the left-hander threw 49 pitches and allowed one run and two hits in 2 2/3 innings. Roberts said Snell likely will progress to four innings in his third rehab outing.

>Star closer Edwin Díaz (right elbow surgery) will make another rehab appearance Sunday for Oklahoma City and, if all goes well, the right-hander is expected to be activated from the injured list Wednesday.

>Tyler Glasnow, on the 60-day IL since May 8 because of low back spasms, threw 25 pitches in one simulated inning Friday. Glasnow will pitch in another simulated game next week when the Dodgers return home and might start a rehab assignment after that.

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>AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb