LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is getting a break from the batter's box for two days.
The struggling Los Angeles Dodgers superstar hit just his second home run in his last 24 games — an opposite field solo shot to left-center in a 6-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. It ended an 11-game homerless streak, which tied his longest as a Dodger.
Ohtani looked skyward as he crossed the plate.
“Relief, he smiled, he laughed,” manager Dave
Roberts said. “He's going to feel good about the offensive side tonight to then refocus for tomorrow to pitch and now he's got something to build on come Friday.”
Ohtani finished the game going 2 for 4 with two runs, an RBI and a walk. The rest of the team was 2 for 25 with four walks. He has seven home runs on the season and is batting .240.
“I thought tonight was a really good night,” Roberts said. “He can hopefully take that momentum from tonight and then be building on that through Anaheim and San Diego.”
Roberts said after the game that Ohtani won't be in the lineup as the designated hitter Wednesday when he also starts against the Giants. Earlier, Roberts said he was giving Ohtani a day from hitting Thursday, although he would be available late if the outcome hangs in the balance.
“It might just be a good thing to take a little bit of a load off of his plate offensively,” Roberts said before the game. “I just can’t take for granted what’s on his plate and so I’m trying to be sensitive.”
As Ohtani goes, so have the Dodgers (24-18). They remained a half-game behind NL West-leading San Diego despite their fourth loss in a row. Andy Pages (.318 average) and Max Muncy (.272) have been LA's best hitters so far, while the rest of the lineup is struggling, including Freddie Freeman (.276) and Kyle Tucker (.253).
“When your best player is doing what he's capable of doing, it just adds that energy into the dugout, frees guys up a little bit to do something too,” Roberts said. “When he's doing well, he's slugging, so those are runs.”
Ohtani is in his first full season as a two-way player for the Dodgers. Coming off two major right elbow surgeries, he was limited to the DH role in 2024, when he created the 50/50 club, with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases, was named NL MVP and the Dodgers won the World Series.
Last year, Ohtani didn't return to the mound until midseason. He wasn't built up to pitching six innings until September and offensively, he hit 55 home runs and had 20 stolen bases. He repeated as NL MVP and the Dodgers won the World Series again.
This season, he has had no innings restrictions on the mound, where he's been dominant. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 0.97 ERA to go with 42 strikeouts and 37 innings pitched over six starts. He's allowed just four earned runs and 21 hits.
“He's still calibrating on this kind of newfound two-way player,” Roberts said.
Roberts has said Ohtani is willing to do whatever the team needs, but at the same time, the manager knows the team's most valuable asset needs to be protected from himself.
“He’s always going to want to do more,” Roberts said. “He has that sense of responsibility to his teammates that he wants to be out there on both ways. I've learned that I have to be proactive and take it out of his hands.”
Roberts has seen enough to decide that taking the bat out of Ohtani's hands might help him reset.
“When the quality of at-bats starts to go down consistently, I think that’s a sign that there needs to be a break because you’re just not able to stay within your game plan and then the chase starts to spike,” he said. “The fatigue is bleeding into the mechanics. Most players get that towards the end of the summer. Now I'm learning managing Shohei it’s probably showing itself a little earlier as far as the tax on pitching and all that comes with it to the hitting, too.”
Ohtani isn't used to not hitting; he's had just three games so far this season in which he wasn't the DH. Roberts suggested he show up late on Thursday.
The Dodgers knew in spring training that having Ohtani return to being a full-time two-way player for the first time since 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels would be challenging.
“It definitely feels sustainable,” Roberts said. “I wouldn’t say it’s more difficult. I think that we all came in knowing that we had to read and react, it was going to be fluid. It should be. It’s very unique.”
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