Ohtani will hit the bench Friday against the Mariners, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
The two-way player almost never takes a position in the field, so when the Angels want to rest Mike Trout's legs by deploying him at the designated hitter spot as they're doing Friday, Ohtani is forced to hit the bench. He's in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak during which he owns a 1.077 OPS and should return to the lineup Saturday.