LOS ANGELES \u2014Dave Roberts said it best over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t hear the word slump correlated with Shohei (Ohtani) on the hitting side, ever,\u201d the Dodgers manager quipped Saturday morning. \u201cHe\u2019s working. It\u2019ll balance itself out. But, yeah, he\u2019s going through it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mired in a scuffle for most of April, Ohtani homered on Sunday to cap off his first three-hit day of the season. He reached base four times as the Dodgers beat the Cubs 6-0 in the rubber match of their three-game series at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n
After going 0-for-12 heading into Saturday\u2019s game, Ohtani singled, walked twice and then snapped a streak of 59 plate appearances without a home run on Sunday. That was a noteworthy gap for one of baseball\u2019s esteemed sluggers.<\/p>\n
Ohtani had quality at-bats on Saturday, signaling that he was feeling like himself at the plate again.<\/p>\n
\u201cStarted to head in the right direction yesterday,\u201d Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on the Dodgers\u2019 postgame television broadcast. \u201cI just have to be a little more patient throughout.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shohei Ohtani sends one out the other way \ud83d\ude24 pic.twitter.com\/la5DBLQvZ5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The results of Ohtani\u2019s at-bats on Sunday progressed throughout the game. He worked the count full before drawing a walk against Cubs starter Shota Imanaga to lead off the bottom of the first. He singled in the second and doubled in the fifth, with the two-bagger registering an exit velocity of 108.8 mph \u2014 the most encouraging sign for Ohtani in several games.<\/p>\n In his fourth and final at-bat, Ohtani hammered a first-pitch sinker from Hoby Milner nearly 110 mph over the left-center fence for his first home run since April 12. That he homered to the opposite field \u2014 and did so off a lefty \u2014 provided two more promising signs.<\/p>\n Ohtani has had just one day off as a hitter this season, April 15, on a designated pitching start day. Since then, his offense dipped dramatically. In Ohtani\u2019s previous 43 plate appearances heading into Sunday, he had a .607 OPS with 12 strikeouts. Most of his contact during that stretch came in the form of weak groundballs to the right side of the field. That was a sign, Roberts said, of Ohtani expanding below the strike zone and chasing pitches he couldn\u2019t do damage with.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s chasing a little too much down below for me,\u201d Roberts said ahead of Friday\u2019s series opener. \u201cLots of grounders. Hard to hit a ball in the air that\u2019s at your kneecaps and below. I think that if we can get him back up a little higher, raise his sights, and get to the big part of the field, I think he\u2019ll be back to being Shohei.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohtani expressed frustration over his offensive production after his pitching start against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. He notched six scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 0.38. But that didn\u2019t stop him from lamenting his performances at the plate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s correct to say that I am not in the best position,\u201d Ohtani said. \u201cIt\u2019s not horrible, but it is something I have experienced in the past, April being kind of like this.\u201d<\/p>\n After Friday\u2019s game, when Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts, he made an adjustment to his stance. He felt his setup was off, and reset his direction. The pitch selection improved, with Ohtani starting to lay off more pitches below the zone.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is about the posture,\u201d Ohtani said. \u201cIf that\u2019s locked in, everything else will follow.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohtani rule? Ohtani rules. pic.twitter.com\/uG5nZr2ng0<\/a><\/p>\n