Dodgers make eye-opening DH decision with Shohei Ohtani only pitching

While Shohei Ohtani’s home run streak has officially come to an end, hitting a dinger against the San Francisco Giants while Ice Cube was in the booth on his bobblehead night, the Los Angeles Dodgers are still trying their best to get their two-way unicorn back on track at the plate during his push for a Cy Young.

One possible option? Give Ohtani the hitter the night off when Ohtani the pitcher is scheduled to start, freeing up the DH spot for another bat to enter the lineup, a trend Dave Roberts plans to continue in Wednesday’s game against the Giants.

On paper, this isn’t the worst idea, as the Dodgers have one of the best bats in the league right now sitting on their bench more often than not in Dalton Rushing, who has been thoroughly blocked from regular playing time due to Will Smith’s impeccable efforts as a two-way catcher. However, in this particular Wednesday night outing, Roberts did not place the 25-year-old slugger in the designated hitter spot, but instead, every day left fielder Teoscar Hernandez, with Alex Call getting the nod next to Andy Pages in the outfield.

Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Giants: pic.twitter.com/61xsrhlzzj

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 13, 2026

After spending much of the month of May hitting near the bottom of the lineup, settling into Pages’ old eighth spot as he’s risen up the ranks as a certified power hitter, it makes sense that Roberts would like to give Hernandez a night off from the field as a reward for his hard work, hitting in the six hole behind Kyle Tucker. Replacing Rushing’s bat with Call’s, however, is much harder to justify, especially in a game where Santiago Espinal is also getting the nod over Max Muncy at third base. Maybe Roberts wants to have Rushing as a pinch-hitting option off the bench just in case, since Ohtani will be ineligible to hit, but considering how infrequently LA has turned to their backup catcher in that role, that might be nothing more than wishful thinking.

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