PITTSBURGH — Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani exited a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning on June 12, 2026. The Dodgers organization confirmed Ohtani left the game due to left knee inflammation, with Santiago Espinal pinch-hitting for him.

Ohtani hit a solo home run and recorded an RBI during the seventh inning before his exit. Alex Vesia relieved Ohtani on the pitcher's mound during the seventh inning. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Ohtani would return to the lineup as the designated hitter for the following day's series finale, a Thursday.

On June 11, 2026, Ohtani pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, four total runs, and three earned runs. His pitching ERA for the 2026 season rose to 1.06 after this start; it was 0.74 through his first ten starts. During the June 11 game, Ohtani hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning and finished 1-for-5 at the plate with one run scored and two RBIs. Ryan Ward hit a grand slam for the Dodgers in the sixth inning of the June 11 game, but the Pirates defeated the Dodgers 9-8.

Manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers coaching staff have a policy of instructing Ohtani to leave the field when necessary to manage his workload. Ohtani had undergone Tommy John surgery in 2025. Roberts said, "There's a lot of nuances that he's got really good feel for."

Ohtani discussed his condition, saying, "May just ended. So once the first half of the season is over, I think it will be good if I can make adjustments after looking at the numbers and the kind of condition I'm in. But I think I've been able to maintain a good pace." He added, "I hesitated whether to challenge. Looking at the results, I think it would have been better to." Roberts commented on the situation, saying, "Probably in his opinion, it wasn't worth the challenge. It's not an exact science. That might have been something that caused a little bit of pause the rest of the inning."