Shohei Ohtani, Dalton Rushing and more Dodgers injury updates

Shohei Ohtani is out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for the fourth consecutive game in Sunday's series finale against the Washington Nationals, but manager Dave Roberts expressed hope that his return is imminent.

The NL's back-to-back reigning MVP has been battling multiple lingering injuries throughout the summer, including pain in his left knee and right bicep that have kept him off the mound since July 3. Neck soreness prompted Roberts to rest Ohtani after an 0-for-4 night on Wednesday in which he struck out four times.

He took swings in the batting cage during Saturday's 6-5 win and according to Roberts, came out of that session just fine. The Dodgers had been weighing whether to put Ohtani on the injured list, where he would have to miss 15 games instead of the standard 10 because of his two-way designation.

But barring any unforeseen setbacks, Roberts told reporters that he's optimistic Ohtani can be back in his usual DH spot for Monday's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

"Yesterday was a good day," Roberts said. "Came out of it feeling well, so if nothing else changes or continues to trend, I see him in there tomorrow."

It wasn't merely the…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/