Superstar two-way player Shohei Ohtani will miss his next scheduled start for the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday due to arm fatigue, manager Phil Nevin said Sunday.
The 29-year-old will remain in the lineup as a designated hitter.
"Shohei asked to skip one start with what he said is some arm fatigue," Nevin said. "There's no pain or injury. Just some arm fatigue, so he's going to miss one start and get right back to where he was in his normal spot."
That will push back Ohtani's next outing on the mound to Aug. 21 or 22 at home against the Cincinnati Reds.
Ohtani was the 2021 American League MVP and is a strong contender to take the award again this year.
He is 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 130⅔ innings over 22 starts this season as a pitcher.
Ohtani is hitting .305 and leading the AL with 41 home runs and 84 RBIs in 117 games. He has 20 doubles, seven triples and 17 stolen bases.
As a pitcher, Ohtani has not allowed an earned run in 19 innings over his past three starts. He left his start against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 3 after four scoreless innings with a cramping right middle finger but threw six innings with only an unearned run surrendered against San Francisco last week.