Not only are the days of Shohei Ohtani struggling with the bat in 2026 gone, but his overall production makes you question if that was ever an actual period of this season in the first place. Ohtani has particularly enjoyed this series against the Diamondbacks—recording multi-hit performances in each of the first three games, dominating in the leadoff spot, and on the mound on Wednesday—and why wouldn’t he? It’s hard to tell what is more impressive: that Ohtani has a slugging percentage above .700
in 21 games at Chase Field or that it is one of six ballparks in which he has a slugging percentage that high with at least 13 games. Now, the Dodgers will have to wrap up this series without their star hitter as Will Smith gets a day off from catching and moves to the DH spot with Dalton Rushing behind the plate.
Interestingly, Ohtani hasn’t had the best of luck against today’s Diamondbacks starter, Ryne Nelson, but a different Dodger has: Mookie Betts. In fact, out of all five Dodgers with at least a dozen at-bats against Nelson, Betts is the only one with worthwhile numbers, batting .357 with a home run. Struggling massively in 2026, Mookie will accept any advantage he can get against a pitcher who has a 2.72 ERA in 39.2 innings against the Dodgers.
More importantly, though, is the opportunity to give Dalton Rushing any plate appearances this team can. Rushing has done all that it could be asked of him and then some, but playing time is scarce even if Smith hasn’t matched his usual standards this year.
Thursday’s game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Diamondbacks
- Ballpark: Chase Field, Phoenix
- Start time: 6:40 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
