{"id":106277,"date":"2025-10-12T00:34:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T00:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=106277"},"modified":"2025-10-12T00:34:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T00:34:14","slug":"october-pressure-dodgers-are-counting-on-shohei-ohtani-to-snap-out-of-his-postseason-slump-teammates-say-hes-locked-in-like-never-before-coaches-believe-one-swing-could-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=106277","title":{"rendered":"OCTOBER PRESSURE: Dodgers Are \u2018Counting On\u2019 Shohei Ohtani to Snap Out of His Postseason Slump, Teammates Say He\u2019s Locked In Like Never Before, Coaches Believe One Swing Could Change Everything, And All Eyes Are Waiting for That Signature Moment\u2026ll"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Dodgers<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 It started with a bang \u2013 two of them \u2013 but Shohei Ohtani\u2019s postseason has turned into an extended whimper.<\/p>\n

Ohtani hit two home runs in the Dodgers\u2019 first postseason game, a Wild Card Series victory over the Cincinnati Reds. But he has gone 2 for 22 since then, including 1 for 18 with nine strikeouts in the four-game National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to win the World Series with that sort of performance,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. \u201cSo we\u2019re counting on a recalibration, getting back into the strike zone, and understanding when he faces left-handed pitching what they\u2019re gonna try to do \u2013 crowd him in, off (the plate), spin him away. He\u2019s just gotta be better at managing the hitting zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m counting on it. We\u2019re all counting on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the regular season, Ohtani was not particularly vulnerable to left-handed pitching. He batted just four points lower against lefties (.279 vs. .283 against right-handers). Fifteen of his 55 home runs came off left-handed pitchers. Only one left-handed hitter hit more left-on-left home runs (Kyle Schwarber, 23). Only two left-handed hitters (Schwarber and Cody Bellinger) had a higher OPS against left-handed pitching than Ohtani\u2019s .898.<\/p>\n

During the postseason, though, Ohtani has been fed a steady diet of left-handed pitching and has not handled it as well. He is 1 for 16 with eight strikeouts against seven different lefties \u2013 Christopher Sanchez (0 for 6, four strikeouts), Jesus Luzardo (0 for 4, two strikeouts), Matt Strahm (1 for 2 with an RBI single and strikeout), Ranger Suarez (0 for 1), Tanner Banks (0 for 1) with the Phillies, Brent Suter (a strikeout) and Nick Lodolo (0 for 1) with the Reds.<\/p>\n

More precisely, Ohtani saw an awful lot of the kind of left-handers he does not hit well. A graphic on MLB Network via Statcast before Game 4 against the Phillies showed that Ohtani hits .221 with a slugging percentage of .317 against left-handed pitchers with lower arm angles (under 38 degrees) compared to a .317 average and .739 slugging percentage against lefties with higher arm angles.<\/p>\n

Five of the seven lefties he has faced in the postseason \u2013 all but Banks and Suter (for one at-bat each) \u2013 have arm angles below 38 degrees.<\/p>\n

Roberts has acknowledged facing those left-handers \u201cis part of\u201d the fuel behind Ohtani\u2019s slump. But he also said Ohtani\u2019s \u201cdecision-making hasn\u2019t been good\u201d when it comes to his game plan at the plate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really not giving himself a chance to hit a mistake (by being overly aggressive),\u201d Roberts said during the NLDS.<\/p>\n

The steady diet of left-handers he does not see well has exacerbated that poor decision-making.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of it actually was driven by the left-handed pitching. And even with that, he wasn\u2019t as bad during the regular season as he was in the postseason versus those guys,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cCertainly, whatever opponent we face (in the NLCS), they\u2019re gonna try to put as many lefties on Shohei (as they can). But hoping that he can do a little self-reflecting on that series, and how aggressive he was outside of the strike zone, passive in the zone. Just the at-bat quality needs to get better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it started out with the unfavorable matchups. I thought in the Wild Card Series, he was fine. They weren\u2019t gonna let him beat them. And I thought from the first pitch on in that Division Series, chasing in, off (the plate) kind of set the tone for that series.\u201d<\/p>\n

A year ago, Ohtani got off to a similarly poor start in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres \u2013 4 for 20 with 10 strikeouts and just one extra-base hit (a three-run home run in Game 1). He was better after that (10 for 41), particularly in the NLCS against the New York Mets (8 for 22 with two home runs).<\/p>\n

Roberts said he hopes Ohtani can make the same \u201crecalibration\u201d for this year\u2019s NLCS. But there is a complicating factor \u2013 the Dodgers are asking him to pitch this fall.<\/p>\n

Ohtani struck out four times during his Game 1 start against the Phillies (three on called third strikes) and Roberts acknowledged he sees a different approach at the plate when Ohtani is also pitching.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think it\u2019s true,\u201d Roberts said. \u201c(When) he\u2019s pitching, he\u2019s probably trying to conserve energy, not trying to get into at-bats. It hasn\u2019t been good when he\u2019s pitched. I do think that\u2019s part of it. We\u2019ve got to think through this and come up with a better game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohtani also hasn\u2019t been a good hitter the day after he pitches. Seven of his 15 starts this year (including the NLDS) came with the Dodgers having an off day the next day. When he did bat the day after a pitching start, he was just 5 for 34 (.147).<\/p>\n

That figures to play into the Dodgers\u2019 pitching plans for the NLCS (regardless of opponent). There is no off day between Games 1 and 2 as there was during the NLDS, giving the Dodgers reason to start Blake Snell in Game 1 on Monday and hold Ohtani for Game 2 on Tuesday \u2013 with an off day Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Roberts would not name the Dodgers\u2019 Game 1 starter on Saturday, saying the team was still thinking through the options. But he didn\u2019t hesitate to say what the Dodgers need from Ohtani in his other job.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully with the hitting guys, himself, learning from that past series, and getting better,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBecause we\u2019re gonna need him to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facing a steady diet of left-handed pitchers, Ohtani was just 1 for 18 with nine strikeouts during the NLDS victory over the Phillies. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani needs to \u201cbe be\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":106278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nOCTOBER PRESSURE: Dodgers Are \u2018Counting On\u2019 Shohei Ohtani to Snap Out of His Postseason Slump, Teammates Say He\u2019s Locked In Like Never Before, Coaches Believe One Swing Could Change Everything, And All Eyes Are Waiting for That Signature Moment\u2026ll - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=106277\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OCTOBER PRESSURE: Dodgers Are \u2018Counting On\u2019 Shohei Ohtani to Snap Out of His Postseason Slump, Teammates Say He\u2019s Locked In Like Never Before, Coaches Believe One Swing Could Change Everything, And All Eyes Are Waiting for That Signature Moment\u2026ll - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Facing a steady diet of left-handed pitchers, Ohtani was just 1 for 18 with nine strikeouts during the NLDS victory over the Phillies. 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