Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani drops striking admission amid MLB playoff struggles
Shohei Ohtani drops a striking admission of his playoff issues.
As Shohei Ohtani struggles as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lead-off hitter, fans around the league have been wondering what’s got the reigning and defending MLB MVP in such a slump.
Is Ohtani fatigued, playing in his first post-season campaign in the majors? Or maybe he’s suffered some sort of injury that no one is aware of? Well, according to Ken Rosenthal on the Fox broadcast, it simply comes down to facing more challenging competition, both in terms of teams and pitchers.
“Joe, by now, you’ve probably seen the stat; Shohei Ohtani is 0-19 with the bases empty, 6-8 with runners on. It’s interesting but nothing more than a baseball oddity,” Rosenthal noted. “The real issue, as Ohtani said yesterday, is that hitting is more difficult in October, when teams face better opponents and their best pitchers. In Ohtani’s case, we’re talking a Yu Darvish, Sean Manaea, Tanner Scott, and others. Tonight, he’s up against Luis Severino, a righty he’s hit well in the past. It seems inevitable that at some point, Ohtani’s results will start to turn.”
Is this the toughest few weeks of baseballing Ohtani has ever faced? More likely than not, yes, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to change things up, or worse, move down the lineup, as the pride of Oshu, Japan still believes he can contribute to his team.
