Hunter Greene Focused On Keeping Shohei Ohtani ‘Off Beat’

The Los Angeles Dodgers were swept by the Cincinnati Reds in their weekend set at Great American Ballpark after tough pitching and self-inflicted offensive woes cut down any chance at success.

Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, were kept relatively quiet in the three-game series, outside the high-scoring affair from Friday. But the Dodgers’ lack of run scoring dates back to early May, where their runs-per-game plummeted from early season highs.

Reds right-hander Hunter Greene is the ace of the Reds’ starting rotation, and during his outing in the middle game, he held the Dodgers to one run.

Greene emphasized that Ohtani was a main focus of attack, noting his ability to change a game with one swing, per Mike Petraglia of MLB.com:

“Obviously, he’s an outstanding hitter and player as a whole,” Greene said of the two-way star. “Being able to read his swings, that chess game of going back and forth and thinking with each other — all of that is super important when you’re facing a team like these guys. It’s just reading the swings, seeing how he approached me the last game and how I can keep him off beat. That was the focus today.”

The Dodgers’ rough patch is more pronounced than it has been in years past, with their losing streak being the deepest in five years.

Faulty performances from the lower-third in the lineup is a main driver in their lack of scoring, having too much swing and miss, with nearly zero bat-to-ball qualities.

Dodgers just have to keep going amid offensive struggles

Even with run scoring at a premium for the Dodgers, Betts noted that they have to just push on, not getting caught up in the current down stretch.

The Dodgers have a few bats that continued to play well, with Betts, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández among their key contributors. Thankfully, the grind of a 162-game season allows for the peaks and valleys.