How Shohei Ohtani can stay in to hit after being pulled from pitching thanks to MLB rule

The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled Shohei Ohtani in the third inning.

He had given up a three-run home run to Bo Bichette to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 3-0 lead.

But it doesn't mean Ohtani is done. It just means he's done pitching.

The Shohei Ohtani rule keeps him in the game.

MORE: Blue Jays have to deal with Shohei Ohtani rule, which is unfair to everyone but Dodgers

What is the 'Shohei Ohtani rule'?

The Ohtani rule altered how the pitcher spot and the DH spot work in batting lineups.

Prior to 2022, when a pitcher came out of the game on the mound, he had to be removed from the batting lineup. And in games where there was a DH, the DH spot hit for the pitcher spot all game, two separate entities.

But with Ohtani, his teams want him to be able to pitch and hit, both, but they don't want to lose his bat when he leaves the mound.

The rule makes it so they don't have to.

This rule alteration allows a team to leave a departed pitcher in as the DH for the remainder of the game. So when Ohtani leaves the mound, he essentially morphs from a pitcher in the batting order to just a designated hitter in the batting order. The Dodgers won't have to let their relief pitchers hit. Ohtani will hit for them.

Does Shohei Ohtani hit when he pitches?

Now that the Ohtani rule exists, Ohtani always hits when he pitches.

Early in his career with the Angels, before the rule, Ohtani didn't always hit when he pitched. Because as soon as he came out of the game, it was a competitive disadvantage, because the Angels would have a pitcher in the lineup while the other team had a DH.

That's not a problem any longer. Ohtani can hit the whole game regardless of how long he's on the mound, and it's a boon for the Dodgers.

He'll be in the lineup until the end of Game 7.

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