Ohtani won't start vs. Tanaka on Sunday due to 'workload management'

Shohei Ohtani won't square off opposite countryman Masahiro Tanaka on Sunday, after all, as Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia confirmed that the 23-year-old's tentatively scheduled start against the New York Yankees has been pushed back for the sake of "workload management."

It's unclear when Ohtani will make his next start.

"There's so much on his plate on what he has to do that we're going to push him back a little," Scioscia told MLB.com's Maria Guardado. "He's fine. Workload management. That's it."

In their attempt to acclimate the two-way phenom to the rigors of the major-league schedule, the Angels have been cautious with Ohtani, who's started seven games this season and typically receives six days of rest between outings on the mound. Ohtani, who has also started at designated hitter 23 times, last pitched Sunday in Anaheim, allowing only two runs while striking out nine and throwing a season-high 110 pitches over 7 2/3 innings in a 5-2 victory.

"I have the utmost respect for what pitchers do," Angels general manager Billy Eppler said. "They are the most tired people when the game is over. You make 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120 explosions - that is a lot, in my opinion. Then you add in cage work, (batting practice) work, and games, so on and so forth, there's a lot on this individual's plate. We're just trying to be mindful of that and understand where we are in the calendar, simple as that."

Through his first two months in the big leagues, Ohtani has dominated on the mound, crafting a 3.35 ERA (124 ERA+) with a 1.07 WHIP and a 3.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 40 1/3 innings. Of his seven outings, five have been quality starts. He's also excelled at the plate, hitting .308/.364/.582 with six home runs, five doubles, and one triple in 99 plate appearances.

Now, though, barring a showdown in the postseason, Ohtani will have to wait until at least 2019 to square off against Tanaka, who made the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball to the big leagues ahead of the 2014 campaign.

"On a personal level, it is bringing a lot of attention once everybody knew we were lined up to pitch against each other I guess it is being considered a very big thing in Japan," Tanaka told George A. King III of the New York Post earlier this week.