Shohei Ohtani is putting together another MVP-caliber season at the plate, but he has uncharacteristically struggled with runners in scoring position. The 29-year-old has gotten off to a 3-for-22 start in such scenarios, which is far below his usual production in that department.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts attributed Ohtani’s lack of success with runners in scoring position to being too aggressive and called on him to take more pitches.
“The zone that I’m swinging at is a little bit larger with runners in scoring position,” Ohtani acknowledged through interpreter Will Ireton. “With nobody on base, I’m pretty good at it. It’s just winding down the zone. I talked about it with Doc.”
Ohtani added he is focused on keeping the same approach for all situations, and not changing it with runners in scoring position.
“Nothing specifically. It’s just more regardless of the situation, sticking to my approach no matter what. That’s more of the change that I did. Which is no change,” Ohtani said.
The Dodgers as a whole have struggled with runners in scoring position this season, and given the recent struggles of the pitching staff, the two-way star admitted there it’s natural to feel more pressure to produce.
However, Ohtani believes the team could naturally improve with runners in scoring position by having more at-bats in those situations. “I’m sure we all feel the pressure to be able to score and put up good at-bats. Especially when we’re behind and have runners in scoring position,” Ohtani said.
“But it’s really looking at each of us individually. I think sometimes it’s a matter of having more at-bats in situations like that.”
Shohei Ohtani: Dodgers held team meetings
After dropping seven of their last nine games and three consecutive series, Ohtani said the Dodgers held team meetings to address their issues.
“When we lose like this, with this many games, it’s not the best atmosphere,” Ohtani said. “But we’re doing our very best to make sure we move on and do our best in our next game. We did have team meetings to be able to address this.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
