Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Makes Rare Move Amid Hitting Struggles

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio G Losada | Last updated Apr 2, 2026 11:04 AM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers closed out their first homestand still searching for offensive consistency after a strong Opening Day performance in which they scored eight runs.

Los Angeles has scored just 15 runs across the next five games and dropped Wednesday’s series finale 4–1 to the Cleveland Guardians, continuing a slow start at the plate.

For reference, in the three games against Cleveland, the Dodgers scored seven combined runs compared to the eight they scored in the season-opener alone.

Shohei Ohtani has been part of that early stretch, reaching base steadily but boasting a poor .167 batting average following Wednesday's 0-for-3 outing.

According to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, Ohtani made an unusual adjustment before the last game against the Guardians in an effort to address that.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) walks into the cage for batting practice.Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

“Five games were hardly enough to fret over, but it certainly registered for Dave Roberts when the Los Angeles Dodgers manager checked his text messages Wednesday morning and saw a message from the club’s hitting coaches,” Ardaya wrote. “The coaches told Roberts that Shohei Ohtani, the leadoff hitter, was veering from his custom. The four-time MVP hardly hits on the field.

“So there Ohtani was Wednesday afternoon, bat in hand. Roberts had canceled batting practice for the rest of the Dodgers, but Ohtani wanted to hit.”

The rare pregame session drew attention, with Ohtani trying to adjust his mechanics and aiming at driving balls into the stands during multiple batting practice rounds.

“The ensuing five rounds of batting practice turned into a spectacle as he peppered baseballs into the stands,” Ardaya wrote.

On Shohei Ohtani’s batting practice, a slow start on offense and some more I’m seeing from the Dodgers’ first homestand: https://t.co/8YL94dBzpk
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 2, 2026

The practice, however, didn't turn into in-game production.

Ohtani went hitless, grounded into a double play on a hittable pitch, and struck out in a key, eighth-inning at-bat as the Dodgers’ offense struggled again.

Through six games, Ohtani is hitting .167 without an extra-base hit, while the 12 hitters to log an at-bat for the Dodgers have put together a combined .237 batting average in 205 trips to the plate.

The Dodgers head into their first road trip against the Washington Capitals at 4–2, with the series opener set for Friday at 1:05 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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