Shohei Ohtani left the game early due to a contusion on his right thigh and is expected to return to the starting lineup the day after tomorrow.

Before facing the Rockies today, Ohtani had previously pitched just once at Coors Field, known as a paradise for hitters—in the 2021 All-Star Game, he started for the AL and threw a scoreless inning.

Despite Coors Field’s reputation for unpredictability, with unexpected events occurring time and again, Ohtani was hoping his debut regular season outing at the stadium would be uneventful.

But things didn’t go as planned—in the Dodgers’ 3-8 loss to the Rockies, Ohtani allowed a career-high-tying nine hits and gave up five runs over four innings. To make matters worse, in the fourth inning, he was struck on the upper side of his right thigh by a 93.7 mph grounder hit by Orlando Arcia.

Although Ohtani remained in the game after being checked by manager Dave Roberts and the trainers, the Dodgers replaced him in the starting lineup with pinch-hitter Alex Call at the start of the eighth inning while trailing 1-6. In his three plate appearances that night, Ohtani went 1-for-2 with a double in his first at-bat and a walk.

Manager Dave Roberts said after the game that Ohtani had a bruise on his right thigh and didn’t think any imaging tests were necessary. Roberts expects Ohtani to rest during tomorrow’s series finale against Colorado and rejoin the starting lineup for Saturday’s series opener on the road against the Padres.

Before today’s rough outing, Ohtani had only once allowed nine hits in a major league game—back on September 10, 2021, when he was with the Angels facing the Houston Astros.