The Shohei Ohtani experience is changing before our eyes.

On Tuesday evening, the Dodgers’ two-way superstar will take the mound against the Houston Astros. He will do so as MLB’s most effective starting pitcher. Ohtani’s microscopic 0.60 ERA tops the sport. In 30 innings of work, he has yet to surrender a home run. Opponents currently hold a .160 batting average, a .226 slugging percentage and a .464 OPS; marks that rank second, first and first respectively.

No matter how you slice it, there is no doubting Ohtani’s hilltop brilliance in his first fully healthy pitching season since 2023. If he stays off the shelf, continues performing at this pace and reaches 160 or so innings, a first-career Cy Young is very much in play.

But at Ohtani’s other job, the main one, the one he works almost every day, things aren’t going as smoothly. At the plate, the four-time MVP is off to one of the slowest offensive starts of his Hall-of-Fame career. His .814 OPS sits 54th among qualified hitters, his .240 batting average 103rd. A whopping 37 players have more home runs than Ohtani’s six. He is rocking a career low line-drive rate. He has gone deep just once since April 12. He is hitless in his last 17 at-bats.

He is searching, he is scuffling.

And so, for the third time in his last four pitching starts Ohtani will not hit Tuesday. 

That was, quite notably, not the original plan. Manager Dave Roberts told assembled reporters before Monday’s game that Ohtani would be in the lineup as a hitter the following day. But the skipper changed course after watching his key man skunk toward another hitless night.

“Just kind of seeing how things are going, and then I just felt that, in my mind, just kind of seeing how it’s playing out, I think it’s best for everyone,” Roberts told reporters, including The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett. “Definitely not [based on] results. It’s a little bit more body language and just watching the player.”

During Ohtani’s six seasons in Anaheim, he was the master of his fate, the captain of his soul. He dictated his schedule to the club, who ceded to Ohtani’s preferences more often than not. The undermanned Angels had no other choice; they needed every last swing, every last pitch from their singular superstar.

But things are playing out differently in DodgerTown.

Ohtani no longer appears to be at the wheel. Dodger leadership — Roberts, president of baseball operation Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes — are running the show. And that group has been refreshingly straightforward about their intentions regarding Ohtani’s two-way duties.

“I do feel like we’ve shown by sitting him a couple times already on days that he pitches that we’re trying to, you know, manage the workload,” Roberts told reporters Monday.

“It doesn’t make sense for him to go wire-to-wire [as both a] pitcher and hitter, playing every day and pitching every week. That’s hard,” Friedman explained to AM 570 LA Sports last weekend.

Ohtani, for his part, is going along with the plan. That’s no surprise for the agreeable 31-year-old, who rarely, if ever, offers anything resembling discontent. During his weekly media availability — unlike all other players in MLB, he speaks to the media only after he pitches — Ohtani is reliably unrevealing often to a comical degree. His answers, given in English through interpreter Will Ireton, are usually full of empty jargon geared toward avoiding controversy at all costs.

“I’m always going to respect the decision, regardless of if I’m pitching or doing both,” Ohtani said, via Ireton, following his most recent start. “Talking with the training staff, talking with the team, I think it’s really important that the team makes the decision about what’s good for the team.”

An endorsement, yes, but not exactly a passionate one. Ohtani hasn’t publicly confessed whether he prefers hitting or sitting when he pitches. Perhaps he genuinely doesn’t have a predilection either way, perhaps he’s being respectful and deferential to his superiors. But based upon how he opted to handle things in Anaheim, it’s reasonable to assume that Ohtani would like to hit, at least until he vocalizes otherwise.

For now, however, the Dodgers are focused on the long game. Ensuring Ohtani is at full strength for October is priority No. 1. They will, at some point, need to re-familiarize Ohtani with doing both in the same game, if that’s how Los Angeles expects to strategize things in the postseason. 

That problem is months away. For now, the Dodgers can keep on keeping on, as long as Ohtani doesn’t get restless. Given the club’s threepeat-or-bust mentality, it’s a rational course of action, even if it means the game’s most unique player will be incrementally less unique.

Still, it’s unusual to think about Ohtani as restricted, in any way, shape or form. He has always been, except for the occasional torn elbow ligament, completely limitless. Time and time again, Ohtani scoffed at baseball’s physical boundaries, making our expectations of him more and more preposterous as he goes. 

That’s what makes this recent, seemingly minuscule development feel notable. Whatever the real reason — age, underperformance, Dodger-Think, a combination — Ohtani is being restrained. It’s a reminder, too, that he can’t do this forever. Time always wins. As such, concessions will need to be made. In fact, they’re already being made. 

Ohtani remains the most remarkable character in the sport. That he is seriously in contention for the Cy Young a season after clobbering 55 home runs is astonishing. His bat will get clicking any day now. He is still the game’s most valuable player. Nobody else in baseball is in his hemisphere of superstardom. 

And yet, even the limitless have limits.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will open Tuesday’s series against the Arizona Diamondbacks without their manager. Don Kelly was suspended by MLB for one game after the league determined Pirates pitcher Chris Devenski intentionally threw at Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart during Saturday’s game.

Devenski was both fined and suspended for his actions. He initially received a three-game suspension from the league, but quickly agreed to a settlement that knocked it down to two games.

Because of that settlement, both Devenski’s and Kelly’s suspensions will begin Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the seventh inning of the Pirates’ 17-7 win over the Reds on Saturday. With the Pirates up 15-6, Devenski threw a fastball way inside to Stewart, nearly hitting the rookie. Stewart took exception to the pitch, causing the umpires to meet and eventually throw Devenski out of the game.

It’s unclear what prompted Devenski to throw at Stewart, though it may have had something to do with whether Stewart was in the batter’s box at the proper time before the at-bat.

Following the contest, crew chief Alan Porter cited that as a reason the umpires decided to throw Devenski out of the game, per MLB.com.

“We had the situation leading up to it with [Devenski] stepping off the rubber and [Stewart] stepping out of the box,” Porter said Saturday in a pool report. “Still had time and stepped out. After that, [Devenski] stepped up, fired the pitch and we believe threw it at him intentionally. That’s why we ejected him.”

While the Reds’ rookie is in the midst of a strong season, he went 0-for-13 vs. the Pirates during the series.

Devenski denied intentionally throwing at Stewart, telling MLB.com he was trying to pitch inside and Stewart “took it the wrong way.”

Given that both teams are in the same division, Devenski and Stewart have multiple chances to face each other again this season.

The earliest that can occur is June 26, the next time the Pirates and Reds are scheduled to play.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, ranked first in the NL West with a 22-13 record, face the Houston Astros, who are fourth in the AL West with a 14-22 record. Starting pitchers are Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers, with a 0.60 ERA, and Peter Lambert for the Astros, with a 3.52 ERA.

How to watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston Astros

• Date: Tuesday, May 5

• Time: 8:10 p.m. ET / 5:10 p.m. PT

• Where: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

• TV Channels: TBS, Space City Home Network, Space City Home Network (Sp), SportsNet LA

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Los Angeles Dodgers: 22-13 (first in NL West)

• Houston Astros: 14-22 (fourth in AL West)

Odds

• Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5

• Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers -220 / Houston Astros +180

• Over/under: 8.5

Starting pitchers

Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (2-1, ERA: 0.60, K: 34, WHIP: 0.87)

Houston Astros: Peter Lambert (1-2, ERA: 3.52, K: 19, WHIP: 1.24)

Weather: 81°F at first pitch

The Texas Rangers, ranked third in the AL West with a 16-18 record, face the New York Yankees, who are first in the AL East with a 24-11 record. Starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for Texas, with a 2.01 ERA, and Elmer Rodríguez for New York, with a 4.50 ERA.

How to watch Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees

• Date: Tuesday, May 5

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET / 4:05 p.m. PT

• Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

• TV Channels: YES, Rangers Sports Network

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Texas Rangers: 16-18 (third in AL West)

• New York Yankees: 24-11 (first in AL East)

Odds

• Spread: New York Yankees -1.5

• Moneyline: New York Yankees -125 / Texas Rangers +105

• Over/under: 9

Starting pitchers

Texas Rangers: Jacob deGrom (2-1, ERA: 2.01, K: 40, WHIP: 0.96)

New York Yankees: Elmer Rodríguez (0-1, ERA: 4.50, K: 3, WHIP: 2.00)

Weather: 74°F at first pitch

The Houston Rockets entered last offseason with a star player in their sights, and decided to pull the trigger on a Kevin Durant deal with the Phoenix Suns. 

Durant, aging but still spectacular, immediately proved his worth. But the Rockets had to overcome the loss of Fred VanVleet to a torn ACL. In fact, the loss of VanVleet moved almost everyone up a notch on the offensive totem pole, a tough ask for a roster that was — and remains — both young and inexperienced. 

While second-year man Reed Sheppard found his footing, at least somewhat, he wasn’t close enough in his development to fill VanVleet’s shoes. Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and Alperen Şengün all had to carry enormous loads on both sides of the floor, and the results were predictably inconsistent. Ultimately, they fell short in the playoffs, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round in six games (with Durant missing five of them due to knee and ankle injuries).

As the Rockets enter another offseason sooner than expected, they have some decisions to make, especially in regards to fourth-year forward Eason. 

2025-26 finish 

Record: 52-30, fifth in Western Conference. Lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round in six games.

Highlight of the season 

The Rockets rolled off eight straight wins down the stretch of the regular season. While the competition wasn’t tremendous, the team found itself in a rhythm that suggested some level of playoff success. 

Players signed for next season 

Kevin Durant 

Alperen Şengün

Jabari Smith Jr.

Dorian Finney-Smith

Steven Adams

Amen Thompson 

Reed Sheppard 

Clint Capela

Key free agents

Tari Eason (RFA) 

Fred VanVleet (player option) 

Projected salary

$159,925541

Projected draft picks

Nos. 39 and 53

Draft focus: These are late picks in a draft that’s grown significantly less deep, with prospects returning to college due to NIL money. At this stage, it’s all about upside. If the players with the most upside, however, are guards, all the better. 

Roster-building tools

Presumably, VanVleet will trigger his player option. If the Rockets also retain Eason, it’ll be at a higher salary point than his current compensation level. That would turn the Rockets into one of the more expensive teams in the league, increasing the likelihood of very little financial flexibility moving forward. In other words, if they’re over the second apron, the tax midlevel exception wouldn’t be available to them. So they should be motivated to stay under. 

Needs and goals 

The Rockets need to slightly reshuffle the deck if they wish to compete for a title, which they do. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to acquire Durant. Does this mean pivoting away from some of the young players? It can’t be ruled out.