During the Toronto Blue Jays' 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Wednesday's series finale at Rogers Centre, outfielder George Springer approached the umpire to question Shohei Ohtani's between-innings warm-up routine. The issue arose after Ohtani, who reached base in the top of the first, returned to the mound with less than a minute left on the pitch clock, echoing complaints from Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.
Ohtani received extra time for eight warm-up pitches, prompting Springer's intervention with home plate umpire Dan Bellino. Video showed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts appearing frustrated from the dugout. Roberts later addressed the Blue Jays' concerns: 'If you're on the other side, you're trying to rush him as much as possible and treat him like any other pitcher. But the truth is that he's different. But I understand their gripe.' (via The Athletic and Foul Territory podcast). MLB rules allow umpires discretion for extra warm-up time when a pitcher ends the prior half-inning on base or at bat—a rule predating the 2022 universal DH. As the only active two-way player, Ohtani often benefits from this for safety reasons, with his times comparable to pitchers who hit in prior seasons per MLB data. Umpires aim to prevent injuries from rushed preparations.
