Dodgers Interview: Shohei Discusses October Struggles at the Plate
LOS ANGELES — It’s been a quiet October for Shohei Ohtani. Not a whole lot to talk about after his big two-homer game to start the Wild Card Series. However, Shohei did meet with the media on the off-day Wednsday to discuss where he’s been and where the postseason might be headed. Ohtani talked through lefty matchups, two-way balance, and the priorities for his next turn. He also tipped his cap to a couple of teammates who’ve mattered in this run.
Asked about the steady stream of left-handed pitching he’s been seeing, Ohtani said, “It makes sense strategically on their side to throw a lot of lefties at me. I expect that.” He added, “In our lineup, the way it’s built, lefties come in around my spot. My job is to come through in those moments, especially with runners on. First, I want to pass the baton in a good way to Mookie and Teo.”
On the nuts and bolts of his adjustments, he kept it simple: “Swing at strikes and take balls. That hasn’t changed from the season to now.” He tied that idea to the quality of each plate appearance, saying, “Raising the quality of the at-bat is the first thing. When I do that, it turns into hits or walks.”
Some numbers have dipped on the day of, or right after, a pitching outing. Ohtani didn’t pin that on the workload. “I don’t necessarily think pitching has affected my hitting,” he said. “On the pitching side, as long as I control what I can control, I feel good. On the hitting side, the stance and the mechanics are constant work. Last year I was a full-time DH, so it’s not a simple comparison.” He circled back to the same point a moment later: “It’s hard to say, but I don’t feel a direct effect. I was able to have a pretty good season offensively with quality at-bats.”
He also talked about why he chose the Dodgers and what this second postseason with L.A. feels like. “I’m very grateful,” he said. “It’s my second year, and we’re back in the postseason and have advanced to this point. The group is different from last year, but we’ve played as one team. I want to keep it going as long as possible.”
Manager Dave Roberts recently noted that some of Ohtani’s swings looked shorter on pitching days, as if he were trying to end at-bats quicker. Ohtani didn’t make much of it. “Same answer,” he said with a small smile. “I don’t really feel a big effect. The focus is the same.”
He praised rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki for how he’s handled a late-season shift. “He’s been put in a very difficult situation in his first year, coming back from rehab and switching to a reliever role,” Ohtani said. “I’m very impressed with how reliable he’s been. The staff is putting him in high-leverage spots with a lot of confidence, and everyone on the field and in the dugout trusts him.”
As for his own next start, he didn’t talk about innings, he talked about zeros. “Ideally I go deep, that would be great,” he said. “But my number one priority is putting up zeros. The most important thing for a starter is not to give up the first run. Then we hand it to the bullpen and keep it moving.”
He also highlighted how Teoscar Hernández has been creating offense in different ways. “He’s come through in big spots with hits and home runs,” Ohtani said. “It’s not only that. The walks, and the doubles when the bases are empty to get into scoring position, that chance-making is huge. In our lineup there are no breaks, and that’s part of his role. He’s been very reliable.”
The throughline was steady: stick to the plan, trust the lineup’s depth, and value each trip to the box. “First, I want good at-bats,” Ohtani said. “If I do that, the results will follow. That’s the same in the postseason.”
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