Dave Roberts doesn’t like leaving Shohei Ohtani out of the Dodgers’ lineup.
But earlier this week, the veteran manager said the club felt it was the best course of action.
On Wednesday (when Ohtani made his most recent pitching start) and Thursday (when he got his first full off day of the season), the Dodgers didn’t give the superstar an at-bat.
Instead, amid his early-season slump, they believed a mental and physical reset was in order. A two-day break, they hoped, would help aid his process of getting back on track.
Such decisions aren’t easy for the Dodgers. They know the four-time MVP wants to play as often as possible.
But, they also sensed he was battling some fatigue in his return to a full-time two-way role.
“The thing is with all players, once you get to a point where you’re exhausted and tired … it’s tough to recoup,” Roberts said. “You kind of have to know how to push them but not get to the red line point.”
Whatever was ailing Ohtani, the extra rest certainly didn’t seem to hurt.
In the Dodgers’ three-game sweep of the Angels this weekend, his production at the plate finally began returning to normal.
The slugger finished the series batting 6-for-13 with seven RBIs and three extra-base hits. He helped key Sunday’s 10-1 rout with a two-run single in a five-run fourth inning and another base hit in a three-run rally in the ninth.
“He just looks more refreshed,” Roberts said after Sunday’s victory, contrasting Ohtani’s recent play with the run-down form he seemed to be struggling through beforehand. “His at-bats, he’s grinding more. He has the capacity to do that. And the swing is in a better place, where he’s not trying to manufacture swing velocity by overswinging.”
Indeed, entering this series, Ohtani was batting just .213 over his prior 27 games. Even more concerning, he had hit just one home run in a span of 112 plate appearances, a drought he finally snapped by going deep Tuesday.
Not to be overlooked: Ohtani felt like he was turning a corner at the plate even before his temporary absence from the batting order.
Coming out of that Tuesday performance, when he went 2-for-4 while also drawing a walk against the Giants, he believed he had fixed flaws in his posture and bat path that had plagued him during his uncharacteristically slow start.
“I’ve said this before, but I think my stance is most important,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “My stance before I start my movements, I think it’s mostly right.”
His downtime, he said, simply helped him solidify such changes.
He also noted improvements to his recent plate discipline and pitch selection.
“I think the best part is that I’m able to judge the zone,” Ohtani said Sunday, after doing almost everything in this series (which included two doubles, a triple on Saturday that turned into a Little League home run, and even a stolen base) short of sending a ball over the fence.
“From here,” he added, “I think there will be more home runs if I can swing in a way that elevates the ball.”
Ohtani still has a way to go before he’s back at his traditional MVP-caliber levels. Even after Sunday’s game, he was hitting just .258 on the season with an .839 OPS. His seven home runs to this point are good for just a 24-homer pace this year.
Still, his recent strides have been enough that, when he takes the mound again Wednesday against the Padres, Roberts said it’s likely Ohtani will also be back in the batting order again.
Did it all make Roberts ready to officially declare that Ohtani’s slump is now over?
“I’d like to think so, I hope so,” he said with a chuckle. “We got a good series, a fun series coming up [in San Diego]. And it’s good to see that he’s swinging the bat well.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
