Kenta Maeda will undergo an MRI after making a second-inning exit due to right-hip strain on Tuesday, when he suffered his fourth loss in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-1 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Maeda (4-4), who was looking for his third straight win, allowed two runs on three hits and a walk and left the game with two outs in the second at Dodger Stadium. After a lingering hip issue from his previous start began flaring up, Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts pulled the starter to avoid further injury.

"It was feeling pretty good until I started pitching in this game. It was considerably better between outings and wasn't much of a concern. (But) when I began pitching in the game, it gradually (got worse)," Maeda said according to MLB.com.

"I wasn't able to get the usual amount of power when I pushed off (with my right foot)."

Maeda will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury, and Roberts acknowledged that a possible stint on the disabled list is likely.

"It looks like a potential DL situation. Nothing too severe, but enough to potentially miss a start. We'll get verification once the scan comes back," Roberts said.

The 30-year-old surrendered a leadoff double and a walk in the top of the first, but manufactured two easy outs on fastballs and struck out his fifth batter swinging.

In the second, Maeda yielded a solo home run to Nick Williams and a double before being visited by Roberts and a trainer. The Japanese righty signaled he was all right, and opted to continue for the sake of the team.

(Kenta Maeda, C, discusses his strained hip with manager Dave Roberts.)
[Photos by Getty/Kyodo]

"I made the decision that I was able to pitch today, and getting pulled out early is something I don't want to do and it puts a lot of pressure on the team," Maeda said.

After convincing them he was fine, Maeda struck out his opposite number, Philadelphia right-hander Jake Arrieta (5-2), who fanned five and scattered six hits during seven scoreless innings. But Roberts returned to the mound and told Maeda he could not continue after observing the pitcher's body language.

"I appreciate and applaud the desire, but risk versus reward," Roberts said. "You see him grabbing at it and moving, so there's a lot of uncertainty there."

With an inherited runner on second, Dodgers' lefty Scott Alexander got into a bases-loaded jam after yielding a walk and a hit, and a two-run grounder put the visitors up 3-0 and cost Maeda a second earned run.

The Phillies scored again in the sixth, but the Dodgers avoided a shutout with a late run in the eighth. The visitors added two more runs in the top of the ninth, and Philadelphia reliever Edubray Ramos retired three straight to seal the win.

Before Tuesday's game, Maeda had struck out 20 over his last 14-2/3 innings, while giving up only four hits. If he is added to the DL, he will join three other Los Angeles starters -- Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, and Ryu Hyun Jin.

"For me personally, I do not think I will be out a long time, but at the same time I do have to see what the MRI says," Maeda said. "The fact that most of the starting pitchers are hurt, it's something you don't want to happen, and I don't want to be part of that, but we'll see."

In the American League, Shohei Ohtani was confirmed to make his eighth pitching start Wednesday when the Los Angeles Angels take on the Detroit Tigers at Comercia Park.

The two-way Japanese star, who is 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA, was originally scheduled to pitch on Sunday, but got pushed back due to what Angels' manager Mike Scioscia called "workload management."

On Sunday, Ohtani batted in his sixth straight game -- the longest streak of his major league career -- and was fanned twice by compatriot Masahiro Tanaka, who earned his sixth win of the season when his New York Yankees beat the Angels 3-1.