'Leave Him Alone': Dodgers' Dave Roberts Jokingly Warns Lakers To Keep Their Hands Off Shohei Ohtani Following Team Sale

Following the news of the sale, fans on social media would go into a frenzy. Many Lakers fans were left fascinated by the announcement of this and started photoshopping Ohtani in a Lakers jersey in several internet memes.

Before the game against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, Dave Roberts joined in on the fun and joked that Ohtani was off limits for the basketball team.

Hands off of Shohei. They have enough superstars wearing the purple and gold. Leave him alone.

Ohtani does have some basketball connections. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, is a former basketball player. The Japanese couple even attended a Lakers game at the Crypto.com Arena in 2024 and received a special gift from the NBA side.

Dave Roberts recently blasted Padres for drilling Shohei Ohtani by pitch

On Tuesday evening, things got heated between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres after Shohei Ohtani got drilled by a pitch. After the game, his manager, Dave Roberts, blasted their National League West rivals for this.

In the third inning of the game, pitcher Randy Vasquez would hit Ohtani in the leg. This came after Fernando Tatis Jr. had been hit by a pitch by Lou Trivino in the first inning.

Roberts was not impressed by this and went on to have a long chat with the home plate umpire. His angry reactions led to him being ejected from the game.

When asked by a reporter if he thought that hit on Ohtani was intentional, the Japanese-American international dropped a blunt answer to it.

Absolutely. He hasn’t come close. For me, if they feel that’s warranted on their side, part of baseball, that’s what they feel. I give him credit because they hit him in the leg. Own it, and we move on. It’s not a misfire. I do feel it was intentional. Again, that’s part of baseball, which we all understand.

The Dodgers went on to win that game 8-6 later on. On Wednesday, the team clinched the series with a 4-3 walk-off win. They will now be looking to record a 4-game sweep of their division rivals and extend their lead over them.

Shohei Ohtani to make next pitching start against Washington Nationals

This past Monday marked the return of Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player in the MLB. The 30-year-old made his pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers and returned to the mound. His next pitching start is now reported to take place this upcoming Sunday against the Washington Nationals.

Ohtani, who had not pitched in the league since August 2023, threw just one inning against the Padres on Monday. In this, he threw 28 pitches and gave up 2 hits and 1 run. After the game, manager Dave Roberts claimed that Ohtani was a little bit “fatigued” but felt good after his pitching debut.

Now his next start is reported to take place against the Nationals on Sunday. As per the team, Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, and Shohei Ohtani are the probables for the upcoming series on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively.

As of Wednesday, the Dodgers are top of the NL West division with a 46-29 record, 4.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants. Following the 3-game series against the Nationals, the Dodgers will be on the road for 6 games and face the Colorado Rockies and the Kansas City Royals.