The Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to an 8-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday with Shohei Ohtani out of the starting lineup for the first time this season. The two-way star had started at designated hitter in each of his first 32 games with the Dodgers before getting the day off.
Ohtani has been mired in a slump over the last week as he is just 5-for-his-last-26. The 29-year-old has also continued to struggle with runners in scoring position, as he is hitting just .184 for the year in those situations.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Ohtani’s day off was planned and had nothing to do with his recent performance, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I think that he understands that it’s a long season, so there wasn’t any back and forth,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani. “I think he understands that it’s probably for his own benefit.”
Roberts said it was “just a routine day off” and not prompted by anything.
As Roberts noted, the day off wasn’t prompted by his recent cold streak, but the skipper does believe Ohtani has done a better job working the count with runners in scoring position, which the two previously discussed:
“I think that hitters want to hit. Shohei is as aggressive as those bees were last night,” Roberts said. “They want to hit in big spots. Certainly, he feels like he’s the best option to drive in a run. And that’s what pitchers feed off of. So I do think, like I was talking about earlier, that he’s managed that controlling of the strike zone. But I think the DNA part of it is to want to swing the bat, which is still a good thing.”
Although Ohtani is being limited to hitting this season, the Dodgers try giving all of their players occasional days off at various points in the year. With Ohtani struggling a bit as of late, the hope is that the day off will help him reset and get back on track.
Aside from his woes with runners in scoring position, Ohtani has put up his usual big numbers at the plate this season. He is hitting .336/.399/.618 with 14 doubles, seven home runs and 19 RBI in 149 plate appearances.
Shohei Ohtani tied Dave Roberts’ Dodgers record
Ohtani’s most recent home run against the Toronto Blue Jays last week tied Roberts for the most home runs hit by a Japanese-born player in franchise history. Roberts tallied his seven home runs over parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, including three in 2002.
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