Ohtani returns – Shohei Ohtani came back into the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on June 13 after left knee inflammation sidelined him on June 12, and he answered the question with a leadoff home run against the Chicago White Sox. The homer came in his leadoff spot and traveled 40
When Shohei Ohtani stepped into the leadoff spot on June 13, it wasn’t just a roster move. It was a check on his left knee—one the Dodgers had already been forced to take seriously days earlier.
Ohtani had been absent from the lineup on June 12 while dealing with left knee inflammation. The concern deepened after he was pulled from the team’s June 11 game and underwent an MRI that came back clean. Still. the question of whether he was truly ready enough to go remained hanging over the Dodgers heading into the next night.
On June 13, Ohtani didn’t ease into the game. Installed at the top of the order, he made an immediate statement off Chicago White Sox starter Sean Burke. On the second pitch, Ohtani drove a ball into the right field seats with an exit velocity of 109.6 mph. The hit traveled 409 feet from where he made contact.
It was his 14th home run of the season, and the kind of impact that makes the “is the knee okay?” conversation feel less like speculation and more like evidence.
The Dodgers know the power is real—but the timing of it matters. Ohtani’s season has been as much about his pitching as his hitting. with the attention split between the two-way weapon he’s been trying to balance. At the plate. his usual rhythm has been imperfect. but even with that slowdown. his 1.06 ERA in 11 starts has stood out as something far beyond ordinary. The knee looks good enough for the designated hitter. the immediate question is whether it’s good enough for the pitching schedule too.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered a key piece of information after Ohtani’s return: the expectation is that Ohtani won’t miss a turn through the rotation. His next start is currently scheduled for June 17, when the Dodgers host the Tampa Bay Rays.
For a two-way star who has already rewritten expectations—back-to-back National League MVP and now in his third season with the Dodgers—this return is another reminder of how quickly the floor can change when he’s in the lineup. In Los Angeles, the excitement isn’t just about the spectacle of the homer. It’s about what the Dodgers still might get if the knee holds up through the rotation.
Still, the schedule is unforgiving, and the stakes aren’t theoretical. The same knee that sparked the MRI in the first place now has to survive a different kind of workload—one that comes with pitching rather than a single swing. For now. Ohtani is back. healthy enough to punish fastballs to right field. and Los Angeles is watching the calendar for June 17.
Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers MLB knee inflammation left knee MRI Chicago White Sox Sean Burke leadoff home run Tampa Bay Rays Dave Roberts National League MVP