Shohei Ohtani winced and shook his arm through an eight-pitch at-bat Wednesday, Sept. 2, striking out for the fourth time. The 10-inning, 8-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals left Dodgers manager Dave Roberts questioning his franchise player's health.

"I saw the shaking of the arm, I saw the wincing, and clearly, the swings aren't who he is," Roberts told reporters after the defeat at Dodger Stadium.

In the 10th inning against Cardinals reliever Riley O'Brien, Ohtani appeared to strain himself with every swing. His discomfort was visible from the stands. Roberts said he had watched Ohtani struggle for weeks and called Wednesday's performance the culmination of a longer decline.

Roberts said Thursday, Sept. 3, he planned to speak with Ohtani and head athletic trainer Thomas Albert before deciding on Ohtani's availability. He called an injured-list stint "very unlikely" but did not rule it out.

Even rest, Roberts conceded, might not solve the problem.

"Is a day or two, or I mean, shoot, even 10 days, is that going to help get him to be 100%? Don't know the answer," Roberts said Thursday, according to the New York Post. He added that Ohtani would "have to find a way to make do …"

Over his last 12 games, Ohtani is 6-for-46 with 19 strikeouts and zero home runs, per the Post. His .795 OPS in August was his lowest monthly mark in three seasons with the Dodgers, The Athletic reported.

He has been managing left knee inflammation and right biceps soreness for months and has not pitched since July 3.

Ohtani has not spoken to reporters since Aug. 17. That day, after hitting two home runs against the Colorado Rockies, he told the LA Times: "That's the reason why we've been pretty careful in the rehab process … and that's the ideal outcome, to make sure that I come back as soon as possible."

He entered Thursday, Sept. 3, hitting .203 since Aug. 15.

The slump coincides with the Dodgers' slide toward .500 ball. Despite holding a nine-game lead in the National League West at 82-57, the Dodgers have gone 26-26 since July 1 and 13-16 since August began. Bleacher Report noted the two-time defending champions risk losing a Wild Card round bye if the slide continues.

The Sept. 2 loss underscored the broader offensive struggles. The Dodgers went 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 baserunners. When first baseman Freddie Freeman was told that stat after the game, he replied: "We were? That's probably why we lost."

Freeman did snap a career-high 47-game home run drought with a three-run blast in the first inning. Starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto carried a no-hitter through five innings before surrendering a pair of two-run home runs over his final two frames.

Ohtani still leads the Dodgers in home runs (30), RBI (80) and runs scored (89) this season. Roberts, who said Aug. 30 that Ohtani's presence in the batter's box was "hugely important" and the team could not "compromise his health in any capacity," now faces the question of whether playing through pain is doing exactly that.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Sept. 2 he still believed Ohtani would pitch in a big-league game this season. The Dodgers open a three-game home series against the Washington Nationals on Friday, Sept. 4, followed by the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 7-9.