LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani is not in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting lineup Thursday as the club continues to weigh how best to preserve its two-way star’s health over the final month of the regular season.Manager Dave Roberts described Ohtani’s status as “day-to-day” and downplayed the likelihood of Ohtani going on the injured list. General manager Brandon Gomes also doubled down on that notion.“I’m not sure it’s an IL-worthy thing right now,” Gomes said to reporters before Thursday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals. “Nothing has indicated that it should be an IL at this point.”The decision comes after an 8-6 loss in 10 innings to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday in which Ohtani was hit by a pitch twice before striking out in his final four at-bats. It was Ohtani’s first four-strikeout night of the year, as the four-time MVP winced repeatedly during his final two at-bats and was seen shaking out his right hand in the dugout after his last plate appearance. After the game, manager Dave Roberts conceded his star looked “compromised” at the plate.“Tonight was kind of the tip of the iceberg,” Roberts said after the loss. “But I’ve seen it over the last couple weeks, where he hasn’t been who he is.”It is the first time Ohtani has not started a game since July 30. Ohtani has been playing through left knee pain and right biceps soreness since mid-June, which has prevented him from pitching in a major-league game since July 3. The Dodgers have not ruled out Ohtani returning to the mound this season, but have also said the priority is to ensure he stays healthy enough to produce offensively.“(Wednesday) was the first time we’ve really seen it,” Gomes said. “So that was like, oh, let’s make sure we’re on top of that and make sure we’re on it.“I don’t think at this point it feels like there’s some long-term concern.”The Dodgers have downplayed Ohtani’s offensive struggles despite several weeks of underperformance. They have maintained he is healthy, even after lingering left knee and right biceps soreness caused the Dodgers to scratch him from what appeared to be an impending return to the mound last week. Gomes reiterated that again Thursday.“I just think there’s also just ebbs and flows of the season and what to attribute things to and what not to is just too hard to say,” Gomes said. “We haven’t had any indication that he’s not feeling good enough physically to go out and play.”But the numbers tell a different story. Ohtani began a throwing program on Aug. 8. Since then, he has hit .204 with a .704 OPS, along with a 30.5 percent strikeout rate, 34.8 percent swing-and-miss rate and 50.8 percent ground-ball rate. It is fair to connect Ohtani’s attempt to return to pitching with his recent offensive slide, and question if his overall health has factored into his performance.It is unclear how much recovery will be needed for Ohtani, who has not spoken to reporters since Aug. 17 despite repeated requests.“Speaking for him, I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup. If he’s upright, he should play. I respect that,” Roberts said Wednesday. “But if he’s feeling the way that he visibly looks, then (it’s) really not helping anyone.”Roberts did not say if Ohtani would be available off the bench Thursday, but he was hopeful Ohtani could have a full day off to reset both mentally and physically. Roberts said he would likely not have a decision as to whether Ohtani would play Friday until that day.“I think we all saw last night he needed a day,” Roberts said. “We have to see as he cranks up tomorrow, see how (he) feels, and I’ll hear how it feels, and then make a decision. At the end of the day, he wants to be in there, but I’m not going to just put him in there because of the name on the back of his jersey.”The Dodgers are optimistic a recovery day will help jump-start Ohtani’s production. It couldn’t come at a more dire time: Los Angeles entered play Thursday with a sub-.500 record dating back to July 1. They remain committed to keeping Ohtani on the active roster.“I think not having Shohei in the lineup for 10 days or whatever it would be is something that we would prefer not to do,” Gomes said. “And it really hasn’t even been something that we’ve discussed.”