Shohei Ohtani returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup Monday, Sept. 7, going 0-for-3 as the club shelved his pitching program for the rest of 2026.

He had missed four games to address discomfort in his left knee and right biceps. The Dodgers still beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 at Dodger Stadium, extending their winning streak to five games. Teoscar Hernández's three-run homer in the sixth inning broke the game open, and recalled starter Emmet Sheehan tied a career high with 10 strikeouts over 5⅔ innings.

But the headline was Ohtani's future on the mound. He last pitched July 3, throwing six innings in a win over the San Diego Padres. More than two months of left-knee discomfort and right-biceps soreness kept him off the rubber, and the Dodgers have now decided the risk is not worth it.

"That's one part of the thought, to sort of take the pitching off of his plate and really try to let him lock in on being a hitter and get on track," manager Dave Roberts told reporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Because the last couple of weeks he just hasn't been himself in the box."

Roberts had signaled the move as far back as Aug. 29 in Detroit, when he said the starting rotation was already a strength and that "if throwing potentially cuts into that, that's not worth the squeeze."

Ohtani, speaking through interpreter Will Ireton, called the decision "disappointing" but said he plans to use the experience to improve next season. He did not sugarcoat his physical state.

"It's hard to really feel 100% at any time in the season … So I wouldn't say I'm there," Ohtani said.

In the six games before Roberts sat him, Ohtani managed just two hits. He leads the Dodgers with 30 home runs, 80 RBI and 89 runs scored, and his 1.79 ERA across 14 starts makes the shutdown sting. But the club won the 2024 World Series with Ohtani hitting only, and the current rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow posted a combined 2.38 ERA over a recent seven-game stretch.

Sheehan's outing reinforced that depth. Called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City after the Dodgers optioned right-hander Bobby Miller, Sheehan allowed three hits and one run in his first major league appearance since Aug. 2. Roberts said Sheehan will stay in the rotation and is scheduled to start Sunday, Sept. 13, in Miami.

The Dodgers managed just three hits all night, per ESPN. Chase Burns held them hitless through three innings before exiting under a workload plan. The breakthrough came in the fifth when Hernández singled off reliever Brandon Williamson, Alex Call was hit by a pitch, and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes threw wildly on Miguel Rojas' grounder, allowing two runs to score. Hernández's sixth-inning blast left his bat at 112.6 mph, the highest exit velocity on any ball he has put in play since 2024, according to Statcast.

Elly De La Cruz homered in the first for Cincinnati, his third long ball in three straight games. He has 24 on the season, one shy of his own club record for switch-hitters set in 2024. Evan Phillips closed with a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save since May 2, 2025.

At 87-57, the Dodgers lead the NL West by 10.5 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. They host the Reds again Wednesday, Sept. 9, with Skubal (8-7, 2.86 ERA) facing left-hander Nick Lodolo (3-3, 5.08 ERA), then travel to Miami for three games starting Friday, Sept. 11.