These MLB stadium snacks are stealing home on social media
Major league baseball stadiums are stepping up to the plate with some seriously viral food and souvenir merch.
Even Shohei Ohtani has his limits.
The greatest two-way player in baseball history will take a break this Saturday, July 4, sidelined by biceps soreness that forced Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to remove him for a pinch hitter the night before.
And Roberts says that skipping Ohtani’s final start before the All-Star break is “on the table.”
Ohtani was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning of L.A.’s victory over the San Diego Padres on July 3. While the Dodgers have preserved some of Ohtani’s energy by not using him at DH on nights he pitches this season, they opted to give him double duty in this one.
And as a pitcher, he did fine, struggling with his command early but ultimately striking out nine and posting a quality start, throwing a season-high 110 pitches in six innings. But after his final at-bat in the bottom of the sixth, Ohtani felt something in his right triceps, a pain he said he’d experienced earlier in the season.
It didn’t take Roberts long to declare Ohtani out as the DH for Saturday’s game.
“He’s a quick healer, and finds a way to get back,” Roberts told reporters after Teoscar Hernandez’s grand slam provided a 4-3 victory. “But I do think that for us to read and react and hear what his body is telling him is really important, given the toll it takes on his body to be a two-way player.”
Ohtani posted a 1.79 ERA in 85 ⅔ innings over 14 starts, with 95 strikeouts to 26 walks. At the plate, he’s hit 18 homers in 81 games – well off the pace of his career-high 55 homers last season – while posting a .927 OPS, ranking fourth in the NL. He’s nonetheless on pace for his first sub-1.000 OPS season since 2022.
The Dodgers finish the symbolic first half with one more game Sunday against San Diego, followed by series against Colorado and Arizona to cap the 10-game homestand before the All-Star break.
