Dave Roberts made the call before Shohei Ohtani ever threw a pitch Wednesday night. His two-way star could attack both sides of the ball without a safety net, because Thursday would be a complete day off. It is the second time in three weeks the Dodgers have held Ohtani out of a game the day after he starts on the mound.

The move highlights how the club is still writing the playbook for Ohtani’s first full season as a true two-way player in Los Angeles. Early in the year there were zero restrictions. He played every day, and the bat went quiet — especially in the games that flanked his starts. The front office tried a middle ground: Ohtani would only pitch on his scheduled start days but stay in the lineup otherwise. That did not solve the problem. So the Dodgers went further, sitting him on start days and the day after.

For the last two weeks they have flipped back to letting him be a full two-way threat on the days he takes the ball. The results speak for themselves. Since May 1, Ohtani is hitting .314 with a .959 OPS. Since May 6 the line jumps to .367 and 1.086. The swing that looked hesitant in March and April has regained its violence and selectivity.

In Arizona against a division rival, Ohtani was back to his usual best, delivering outing plate appearances, and his pitching was the best it has been in a couple of starts.

Ohtani reached base four times through six innings, while the Arizona Diamondbacks only reached base three times up until that point.

Roberts knows the mental side matters as much as the physical. Giving Ohtani advance notice that Thursday was off freed him to empty the tank Wednesday without any internal governor.

“I feel we can empty the tank on the pitching, the hitting side tonight then give him that full day tomorrow whereas a couple weeks ago, I felt he needed two days to kind of reset,” Roberts said. “I think that reset did him well.

“I think him knowing he’s down tomorrow is mentally freeing going into tonight. And so, there is some value in him knowing he can empty the tank and know that he doesn’t have to go to it tomorrow as well.”

The approach remains deliberately fluid. Roberts said last month there is no single model. It is a constant read-and-react exercise built around Ohtani’s feedback and the data the training staff sees daily.

Assuming Ohtani’s next start lands on the following Wednesday, the Dodgers will not have an off day immediately after it. That reality could push the club toward sitting him on each of the next two Thursdays as well — small, targeted rests meant to keep the engine running deep into the summer and beyond.

Ohtani continues to do things on a baseball field that stretch the imagination. The Dodgers’ job is to make sure the imagination stays reality for as long as possible.