LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers are aiming to sort out two-way star Shohei Ohtani's nagging knee trouble as their bid for a third consecutive World Series crown hits the halfway stage.

As the Major League Baseball season reached the mid-season All-Star Game break on Sunday, the Dodgers boasted the best record at 61-36 despite a 5-3 home loss to Arizona.

Ohtani, who homered off the first Arizona pitch Sunday, was to skip the All-Star Game and have fluid drained off his left knee, giving him four days to recover before the Dodgers return to the field on Friday against the New York Yankees.

"The knee flared up. Sometimes it calms down," said Ohtani, who indicated his pitching motion could be causing the knee issue.

"In terms of the knee, I think it's more of my pitching mechanics. That's something I need to work on."

Ohtani is a candidate for a fifth overall and fourth consecutive Most Valuable Player award, a third in a row in the National League after an American League Most Valuable Player in his last season with the Los Angeles Angels.

"He has been managing this quite well, the knee, and so if there's a chance we could be proactive and get it drained... we were going to do that," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Ohtani is batting .293 with 22 home runs and 58 runs batted in at the plate, while as a pitcher he is 8-2 with 95 strikeouts and a 1.79 earned-run average.

The Dodgers beat the Yankees in the 2024 World Series and triumphed over Toronto last year.

They could become the first National League (NL) club ever to win the championship final three years in a row, the first overall to do it since the Yankees won from 1998-2000.

Los Angeles reached the All-Star break leading Arizona by 11.5 games in the NL West division, by far the largest margin for any division leader.

Milwaukee, the NL Central leader, ranks second overall at 59-37. Atlanta leads the NL East at 55-40 with Philadelphia, the Chicago Cubs and Miami in wildcard playoff positions with St. Louis, Arizona and Washington within four games.

In the American League, Tampa Bay leads the AL East and overall at 56-38 with the Yankees second at 54-42 and in the top wildcard spot.

The Chicago White Sox lead the AL Central at 50-45 with Cleveland just behind, and the Texas Rangers lead the AL West at 49-47 with Seattle in the final wildcard spot.

Philadelphia designated hitter Kyle Schwarber leads the NL with 32 home runs, one more than AL leader Yordan Alvarez of Houston.

St. Louis outfielder Jordan Walker leads MLB with 74 runs batted in with AL leader Alvarez next on 70.

Miami shortstop Otto Lopez leads in batting average at .334 with San Francisco second baseman Luis Arreaz next at .331. Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz tops the AL at .322 with Alvarez next on .318.