Dodgers fans panicking after team's decision on Shohei Ohtani for Wednesday's game

Los Angeles Dodgers fans eagerly await any and all news when it comes to Shohei Ohtani. Not only is Ohtani likely to threaten some wild record in baseball history on any given night, but he is also what keeps the Dodgers moving forward. For all of LA's roster issues elsewhere, Ohtani has remained as a consistent threat that can carry the Dodgers to victory singlehandedly. Unfortunately, the news on Ohtani was much less welcome.

Just a few hours before the Dodgers were set to take on the Pirates on the road, it was revealed that Ohtani would not start the game as planned. Instead, Emmet Sheehan got the start after Ohtani was scratched. In an interesting (and encouraging) wrinkle, Ohtani was still in the lineup as LA's designated hitter.

**UPDATE**

You can stop chewing your fingertips off, Dodgers fans. According to manager Dave Roberts, Ohtani just hasn't been feeling well the last few days. Given how hard it is on him on days when he both pitches and throws, LA wisely decided to just push his next start back a bit to allow him to feel better.

Shohei Ohtani's late pitching scratch should only be a minor concern...for now

It is never great when any pitcher, let alone one as important to the Dodgers' fortunes as Ohtani, gets scratched right before a start and this isn't the first Ohtani injury scare this season. However, it is pretty good news that Ohtani remains in the lineup as the DH and probably indicated that the cause of the late scratch isn't considered serious. That proved to be correct given that Ohtani was just feeling sick.

It was always possible Ohtani just has a blister or his arm is feeling a bit tired for whatever reason, but the more likely explanation (hat tip to Jack Harris) was that the Dodgers knew that Sheehan was going to make a start on this road trip of theirs and they were taking the opportunity to give Ohtani some extra rest. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like there is anything serious going on.

With Ohtani's history of arm trouble, any hiccup is going to instill a little bit of panic in fans until confirmation comes out that he is okay. The longer fans have to wait for an explanation from Dave Roberts or the team, the more likely it is that something is actually amiss with Ohtani. Luckily, that explanation came quickly and it seems like a crisis was averted.

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