Shohei Ohtani delayed his bullpen session due to left knee discomfort, but his hitting remains unaffected and he will still start.

Due to ongoing discomfort in his left knee, Shohei Ohtani postponed his scheduled bullpen session today.

According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the two-way superstar felt some discomfort after throwing 30 pitches in a bullpen session in Philadelphia on Thursday. Roberts stated that hitting and running do not affect Ohtani's knee. In fact, during Saturday's 4-2 win over the Mets, Ohtani attempted to stretch a double into a triple in the fifth inning but was tagged out. Ohtani was in the starting lineup today and served as the leadoff hitter.

"We won't move forward with his pitching recovery plan until both he and we are 100% confident," Roberts said. "He just doesn't feel 100% right now. I think after his last bullpen, there was a bit of a step back. We want to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Despite some setbacks in the recovery progress, Roberts said the Dodgers are not concerned. Ohtani rested during the All-Star break and then resumed his recovery process with this week's bullpen session. Roberts said Ohtani's knee has improved since before the All-Star break.

"You think you can use that break to adjust. After coming back, you throw a bullpen and feel like you can keep adding to it," Roberts said. "It wasn't in the plan, but the idea was he would throw one on Thursday and then another one today. It just didn't end up happening."

As a pitcher, Ohtani has been dominant this season, posting an 8-2 record with a 1.79 ERA over 85.2 innings. On offense, as of today, his slash line is .286/.392/.527 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs.

"It's a shame for everyone that he's missing these two starts, especially for himself," Roberts said. "He's been hitting really well. I think he can get even better, but he's already performing at an MVP level."