Shohei Ohtani makes a strong public statement amid his struggles

Shohei Ohtani’s body may be failing him, but his confident remains unshaken.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Ohtani spoke with reporters on Tuesday. During the interview, Ohtani said (through his interpreter Will Ireton) that he remains confident in his ability to help the Dodgers win in spite of his ongoing health woes.

“The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit,” said Ohtani, per Jack Harris of The California Post. “The results, [I] take full responsibility.

“The number one priority is for the team to win,” Ohtani continued. “So whether that be for me to contribute on the offensive side, I do want to feel confident in the approach that I’m taking on that day, whether that be mechanical or anything else. So that’s really just been my focus overall.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also told reporters earlier in the day that Ohtani will remain in the lineup for Game 3 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

Ohtani, the four-time MVP, has been hobbled by some well-documented knee and biceps issues over these last several weeks and months (even requiring a stint on the injured list in September). As a result, Ohtani has looked severely compromised, batting a woeful .150 with a .411 OPS, zero extra-base hits, and seven strikeouts through his first six postseason games this year.

During the Dodgers’ Game 2 loss to the Brewers on Monday, Ohtani even produced an extremely embarrassing strikeout as part of a forgettable 0-for-4 performance. There was some talk that the Dodgers would consider a drastic move with Ohtani amid their 0-2 hole in the NLCS, but that will not ultimately come to pass for now.