Slumping Dodgers need Shoehi Ohtani to be two-way star he’s paid for

SAN FRANCISCO – He said he felt the way he usually did at this stage of the season – no better, no worse.

When explaining why he wasn’t overly concerned about his offensive form, or lack thereof, Shohei Ohtani referenced his personal history.

In his previous eight years in the major leagues, he was on average the most productive in June. Last season, his best month as a hitter was in May.

Then again, Ohtani said in Japanese, “Nothing would be better than for that to happen sooner.”

Especially on this team.

Especially in this season.

The Dodgers lost for the fourth time in their last five games on Wednesday night, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Giants at Oracle Park.

Ohtani might be the best pitcher in baseball at the moment, but the Dodgers need him to start hitting and they need him to start hitting now.

With Andy Pages slowing down after his superhuman start to the season and Dalton Rushing bound to do the same, the team’s most-expensive player has to deliver.

Ohtani’s last home run was on April 12. Since then, he’s batted .212 with just one run batted in.

He was hitless in four at-bats Friday night, which snapped his on-base streak at 53 games, the longest by any Dodgers player since the franchise relocated to Los Angeles in 1958.

“As a leadoff hitter, it’s important to reach base,” Ohtani said. “I think that’s a number that grows when you can stand comfortably in the batter’s box. But I still don’t have that feeling in the batter’s box.”

Ohtani’s lack of production has been magnified by the slow start of the high-priced batter who hits behind him, Kyle Tucker.

The Dodgers have invested a combined $940 million in Ohtani and Tucker, but the Nos. 1 and 2 hitters have combined for just 14 hits in the team’s last nine games. The team scored only one run in the first two games of its three-game series against the Giants.

“It’s certainly tough,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Because both guys are obviously tremendous players. They’re getting the most at-bats. So for them to be productive, it makes it easier and more helpful in creating stress and building innings and things like that.”

Closer Edwin Diaz underwent a surgical procedure on Wednesday to remove loose bodies from his elbow, which is expected to sideline him until after the All-Star break. Diaz’s absence will have a major impact on the bullpen, placing a greater responsibility on the offense to score more runs.

That starts with Ohtani.

“Shohei, I think the aggressiveness is still there,” Roberts said. “I think at times there’s a little too much pull in there and then I think he makes a concerted effort to stay on the ball, see it a little longer and then gets beat a little bit with the fastball.”

As for Tucker, Roberts said, “He’s clearly just not comfortable. He’s frustrated, doing extra work with the hitting [coaches], but I don’t right now have an answer. I think when he does get a pitch in the zone, whether it’s not putting a good swing on it or getting beat … yeah … I don’t really have an answer for that.”

Ohtani played both ways on Wednesday, and he was spectacular again on the mound, blanking the Giants over six innings to lower his earned-run average to 0.38. Throwing seven pitches that were clocked at 100 mph or faster, Ohtani struck out seven batters.

But as well as he pitched, he was never in line for a victory, as the Dodgers managed just four hits in a game in which the Giants started Tyler Mahle, who entered the contest with a 5.26 ERA.

“My form isn’t that bad right now,” Ohtani said. “I just think it’s not coming together. I think this is typically how I feel in early spring.”

As Ohtani fielded questions about himself and his team, he made several mentions about the length of the baseball season.

He did when promised there will be days when the Dodgers’ bullpen doesn’t give up any runs.

Or when he said he would be open to hitting in a different spot in the lineup, or not hitting at all, in games in which he pitches if Roberts thinks that’s what’s best for the team.

Or when he predicted his hitting would start to pick up.

In time, he implied, problems will resolve themselves.

“It’s not as if the season is over today,” Ohtani said in Japanese.

He’s right, of course.

The Dodgers are only 24 games into their 162-game schedule, and they remain a lock to reach the postseason regardless of when Ohtani rediscovers his swing. But how he plays will determine how they get there. The earlier he starts looking like the best hitter in baseball, the less turbulent their journey figures to be.

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com