Dodgers' Enrique Hernandez returns to IL; Shohei Ohtani is OK

Los Angeles Dodgers’ utility player Enrique Hernandez has returned to the injury list after leaving the 15-6 win against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night and Shohei Ohtani also exited after taking a pitch off his right hand while batting.

Just two days after making his long-awaited season debut, Hernandez left the field after struggling to continue the game.

Ohtani, on the other hand, a day before his next start on the mound, also got hurt.

Hernandez, who underwent an offseason elbow surgery and missed the season's first 53 games because of it, will be back on the injured list after worsening a left oblique injury Tuesday.

Enrique Hernandez, 34, made an impressive return on Monday. He went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI in his 2026 debut. In his first at-bat on Tuesday, he stayed hot, contributing a homer to give Los Angeles a 3-1 lead in the third.

After an inning, he added a double before coming out of the game at the top of the fifth.

"I did it during batting practice yesterday," Hernandez said after the game, adding, "I was pretty embarrassed that I did that and I didn't really tell anybody about it. ...

"I'm hoping it's best-case scenario, it's maybe, hopefully it's just a Grade 1 and just, two or three weeks and I'm back, but who knows."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts added postgame, "Certainly we're going IL him and give him some time to kind of get back. It's not a season-ending thing, so that's something to be hopeful with."

Hernandez was a .236 career hitter over 12 seasons before this season, with 130 career home runs and 471 RBIs with Los Angeles (10 seasons), the Boston Red Sox (three), the Houston Astros (one), and the Miami Marlins (one).

According to Roberts, they would recall Alex Freeland from the minors to replace Hernandez on the active roster.

As for Ohtani, he remained in the game after being hit by a pitch from Kyle Freeland in the fourth, eventually scoring in the inning.

Fortunately, the four-time Most Valuable Player was hit by a pitch, which was an 85 mph changeup and most of the contact was made with a heavy pad over Ohtani's right hand.

"It got him on the pad, but I think it flipped his pinky a little bit," Roberts said. "But I think we're in a good spot. ... He is gonna start (on the mound Wednesday)."

Ohtani, 31, is a strong contender for the National League Cy Young Award, sporting a 4-2 record with an impressive 0.73 ERA through eight starts across 49 innings. He has struck 54 batters and allowed 13 walks and is holding batters to a .163 average and a lowly .471 OPS.