Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Enduring Puzzling Month at the Plate

A puzzling month of August has put Shohei Ohtani’s Triple Crown hopes on hold, even as he remains the National League front-runner for Most Valuable Player.

Through Monday , Ohtani only had 12 hits this month with seven of them leaving the yard. He added a single and a triple in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Mariners Tuesday.

The designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers has punished mistakes, but has struggled to maintain the consistency he had in the previous months. The biggest difference has been his walk rate, which is down from 12.8 percent to 6.7 percent.

“I think the plate discipline is just not what it is when he’s right,” manager Dave Roberts said . “I think the swing decisions aren’t as good as they have been.”

Ohtani got his batting average over .300 on April 6 and it dipped under for the first time on Aug. 11. It has been falling slightly ever since. He came into Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners batting .290.

Going back to July 28, Ohtani hit .147/.226/.427 in past 18 games. His .749 OPS would be his lowest for a full month since he started the 2022 season with a .722 OPS.

Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic , Ohtani acknowledged some issues with his approach but noted through interpreter Will Ireton that his struggles stem from something “mechanically, that’s not quite where it’s supposed to be.”

Ohtani told reporters it starts with his posture in the box and where that leaves him in being able to pick up the baseball and make consistent hard contact.

“When I’m not really squaring up, then it’s kind of telling me that I’m not quite on it,” Ohtani said.

For most of the season, Ohtani’s weakness was high and inside. During the month of August, pitchers have stayed on the outer half sometimes extending the zone into the river (the area between the outside corner and batter’s box) and getting him to chase. When he chases outside pitches, he tends to fly open causing him to pull his head.

“He’s losing his foundation, his base, his connection to the ground,” Roberts said. “That’s never a good sign for a hitter.”

Through Tuesday, Ohtani faces an 18-point gap between himself (.291) and Marcell Ozuna (.309) for the NL batting average crown. Ozuna trails him in the home run department, 39 to 37, but leads in RBIs, 94 to 88.

Photo Credit: Tim Vizer-USA TODAY Sports

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