Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws on the field before game two of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium in New York, Sunday. (AFP-Yonhap) NEW YORK (AP) -- Shohei Ohtani won't make his next scheduled start on the mound because of left knee irritation and isn't expected back in the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation for a while.The two-way superstar received a lubricant injection in the knee just before the All-Star break last week and had been expected to pitch Wednesday in Philadelphia against the Phillies.Ohtani, however, still didn't feel 100 percent while playing catch this weekend, so he and the Dodgers decided not to even test the knee with a bullpen session.The four-time MVP hasn't pitched since July 3, when he threw a season-high 110 pitches over six innings in a no-decision against San Diego. Now, it's unclear when he'll return to the mound."I would say that it's going to be some time," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday before his team's doubleheader against the New York Yankees. "It's not going to be a day-to-day thing."Roberts reiterated that Ohtani feels no knee pain when hitting. The slugger went 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a run during an 8-2 victory in the opener Sunday, and was back in the leadoff spot as the designated hitter for the nightcap."We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get in a good spot," Roberts said. "As he said, as we feel, it's the pitching and the torque on landing on that leg. That kind of gets it upset. So I think that hitting doesn't do that. So I think that for us, we're trying to give it as much time as possible."The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers began the day with the best record in the majors at 62-36 and a 12-game lead in the NL West. Roberts indicated that's playing into the team's approach with Ohtani, who skipped the All-Star Game last Tuesday in Philadelphia to treat and rest his balky knee.The right-hander has been dealing with the ailment for more than a month. He had an outing cut short against Pittsburgh on June 11 because of inflammation in the knee."I think for us, it's more like we've done many times over, erring on the side of caution," the manager explained. "A lot of it is where we're at and how we put ourselves in a good spot in the sense of, could he probably do it? Sure. But right now the benefits don't seem to outweigh the cost of this time in the season. So I think that we still have plenty of time to kind of get him in a good spot."Roberts said he's sure Ohtani will return to the mound this year."If it's two weeks or three weeks then that's kind of why we're trying to do this, so we don't have to worry about it throughout the end of the season," Roberts said.