Shohei Ohtani is starting to heat up at the plate after somewhat struggling to begin the 2026 season.
The four-time MVP has gone 6-for-11 with two doubles, one home run and two RBI over his last three games entering play Tuesday. However, Ohtani’s overall numbers are still considerably down from his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That has raised concerns about Ohtani’s workload as a two-way player. While the team has experimented with different ways to help the 31-year-old balance hitting and pitching more easily, manager Dave Roberts realizes he may have to sacrifice some of his offense to be dominant on the mound.
“Last year, there was a slow build-up where you could argue that, or the truth is that he was more focused on the hitting because there wasn’t much demand on the pitching side,” Roberts began. “And then right now, you start the season where he’s at with the innings and pitches and all that stuff, that you could argue there’s more focus on the pitching, and there’s more demand on the pitching and what we’re asking of him.
“So there’s got to be some cut into the bandwidth, production on the offensive side. That’s just common sense. So how it translates to how he’s been swinging the bat in the last week, how much of that is the pitching? I don’t have an answer for that. But that’s to be understood that there’s some kind of cut into production given how much he’s pitching.”
Ohtani has gotten off to slower starts in April before, but Roberts will continue to exercise patience with him as he figures out how to balance his two-way role again.
“I think he’s a very smart player,” Roberts said. “Obviously, we know the talent, and I do think that there were some adjustments within at-bats. So he certainly deserves more leash and more opportunity than essentially anyone.”
Roberts has noticed a more focused Ohtani behind the scenes in terms of game-planning and allowing his body to recuperate after starts.
“More time to the pitching and recovery,” Roberts said. “When you throw 100 pitches and you go that kind of effort, there needs to be more recovery. But as far as demeanor, very similar.
“When he pitches, there’s that alter ego that we’ve talked about that I definitely love when he’s pitching. But as far as overall kind of persona, similar.”
Shohei Ohtani next pitching start
Ohtani is scheduled to make his next pitching start on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins, but won’t be in the Dodgers lineup for only the second time this season. He’s pitching on shorter rest to allow Tyler Glasnow extra time to prepare for his next start on Wednesday.
Ohtani also relinquished designated hitter duties in his start against the New York Mets on Jackie Robinson Day. He allowed only one run on two hits and collected 10 strikeouts in six innings of work.
Ohtani has gone 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA, 1.92 FIP, 0.75 WHIP and 9.4 strikeouts per nine in 24 innings across four starts this season.
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