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Alden Gonzalez
Los Angeles– shohei ohtaniMichael Bublé’s “Feeling Good”, played at Dodger Stadium during an otherwise quiet moment on Wednesday afternoon. Ohtani then emerged from the dugout for a rare session of on-field batting practice, to derisive applause from his teammates. los angeles dodgers‘ The two-way event highlighted prodigious home runs, one of which hit the roof that sits beyond the right-field bleachers.
That Ohtani put himself in that position, taking batting practice at Dodger Stadium for the first time since joining the team two years ago, perhaps speaks to the urgency of the moment.
The Dodgers have continued to make progress in these playoffs, but Ohtani’s decline continues. Since the wild-card round, he is just 2 for 25 with 12 strikeouts. His seventh-inning RBI single in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday snapped his hitless streak of 15 at-bats, the second-longest of his career.
Speaking before Wednesday’s workout, Ohtani denied that performing as a two-way player in the postseason has affected his hitting.
“I don’t think pitching has affected my hitting performance,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “Just on the pitching side, as long as I control what I can control, I feel pretty good about producing results. On the hitting side, just the stance, the mechanics, it’s just something I do – it’s a constant work in progress. I don’t necessarily think that way. It’s hard to say.”
Ohtani homers twice in two wild-card wins against cincinnati reds but was overwhelmed by a philadelphia phillies The team has three devastating left-handed starting pitchers, going 0 for 13 with seven strikeouts. christopher sanchez, Jesus Luzardo And ranger suarez, milwaukee brewers Have tried to follow a similar formula, throwing his best lefty relievers at him as often as possible. Aaron Ashby Game 1 of the NLCS opened, but Ohtani struck out. Ohtani later faced another lefty reliever Jared Koenig And was driven out of the land. In Game 2, he singled out Ashby and struck out against another lefty reliever, Robert Gasser,
Of Ohtani’s 40 plate appearances in these playoffs, 22 have come against lefties. He has reached base only three times against them.
“I think it makes sense strategically on their part that they would put a lot of left-handed pitchers against me,” Ohtani said. “I’m really focused on having better quality batting. I think in that sense, that’s something I’ll always be working on.”
Ohtani started Game 1 of the NL Division Series on the mound, pitching six innings of three-run ball. He was set to pitch Game 1 or 2 of the NLCS – Game 2 was preferred because an off day would allow him to fill two roles – but he was benched for Game 4 instead. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the decision had more to do with lining up. blake snell And yoshinobu yamamoto Ohtani is likely to pitch twice in the series to help him recover from the slump.
Roberts called Ohtani’s at-bats in Milwaukee “fantastic”, even though he only went 1 for 7.
“I think he’s controlling the strike zone, I think he’s still aggressive when he gets his pitches,” Roberts said. “Had a lineout to right field and walked three times. Had a base hit in a run-scoring opportunity. Those are positives for me.”
Ohtani earned the 50/50 club in his first season with the Dodgers in 2024 and was just as impressive an offensive player when he returned to pitching in 2025, slashing .282/.392/.622 with 55 home runs and 20 stolen bases. The fourth MVP awarded in five years. In the 14 days he also pitched, however, Ohtani’s slash line declined slightly to .222/.323/.556. Asked if he felt the need to readjust himself to a two-way role, Ohtani again demurred.
“I know it might seem like I’m saying the same answer again,” he said, “but yeah, I don’t think it’s ever really had an impact. I feel like I was able to have a pretty good season offensively, be able to have quality at-bats throughout the season. It’s hard to say. But yes, same answer as before.”
