LOS ANGELES — Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani will pitch — and only pitch — on Wednesday against the New York Mets, two days after he was hit by a pitch on his right shoulder while serving as a designated hitter.

It marks the first time as a Dodger (and first time since May 28, 2021, while with the Los Angeles Angels) that Ohtani will pitch, but not hit in the same game.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this spring that the organization would “definitely explore” having pitch-only days for Ohtani in his first full season removed from a second major elbow procedure. The impetus for Wednesday’s decision, however, appears to be less about keeping Ohtani fresh and more about the state of his bruised right shoulder.

“If it weren’t for the hit by pitch, he would’ve been DHing and pitching tonight,” Roberts said on Wednesday. “But I do think that, just to be able to pitch and focus on that, will be a benefit for the mind and the body, and hopefully, we’re just in a little moment of fatigue and we can get past it.”

Ohtani took a 94 mph David Peterson sinker off of his right shoulder to lead off Monday’s Dodgers win over the Mets, letting out an audible yell afterwards even with a sold-out crowd. Ohtani remained in the game as a designated hitter and served as the DH again in Tuesday’s 2-1 win.

Roberts stressed in recent days that Ohtani would still be able to pitch. He was still able to go through his typical routine Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of Wednesday’s start. Ohtani’s first full-fledged season as a pitcher with the Dodgers has gone swimmingly, with the right-hander allowing just one unearned run over his first 12 innings.

The shoulder could have affected Ohtani at the plate. He has gone 0-for-7 since the hit by pitch, drawing an intentional walk in the eighth inning to extend his regular-season on-base streak to 48 games — the longest active streak in the majors. That streak remains active, so long as Ohtani doesn’t log a plate appearance on Wednesday.

“Just feeling what gives him the best chance to stay loose during the outing, feel good,” Roberts said. “He got hit on the scapula, the back of the shoulder, a couple days ago. There’s still some soreness in there. When he’s hitting, there’s a component that he’s in the cage getting ready to hit, and if we can take that off his plate and just focus on one thing tonight, we felt — training staff, pitching coaches, myself — we just felt it was the best thing for him. So, once I told him, he completely understood.”

Roberts said he expects Ohtani to hit and pitch during his next pitching start, which is tentatively scheduled for next Wednesday in San Francisco.

Dalton Rushing will serve as the team’s designated hitter in Ohtani’s place, with Kyle Tucker sliding up into Ohtani’s typical leadoff spot. This is just the 15th time someone else has hit leadoff for the Dodgers since Ohtani was moved into the spot on June 17, 2024.