Ohtani pitched his best game of the season on Wednesday night, but in the aftermath of theDodgers’ 4-0 victoryover the Giants, he looked as if his dog just died.
Manager Dave Roberts kept himout of the Dodgers’ offensive lineupfor the fourth time in five starts, and the one-way version of Ohtani responded with seven scoreless innings that ended the team’s four-game losing streak.
That was viewed as a coincidence by Ohtani, who kept denying that hispitching was affecting his hitting, and vice versa. Ohtani wasn’t about to concede that his workload required modifications, even though hishome run the previous nightwas only his second in his last 24 games as a hitter.
“I think it’s simply a lack of ability,” he said in Japanese.
As for how much harder it’s become to play both ways now that he’s closing in on his 32nd birthday, Ohtani replied, “I think I’m at my best right now. I still think I’m young.”
Considering how much he insists on being a two-way player, his responses were entirely predictable.
But the debate over how he should be used will rage on. His latest start ensured that it would.
Because if Ohtani continues pitching as well as he did against the Giants, the Dodgers would have a reason to not want to use him as a designated hitter when he’s on the mound. He has an earned-run average of 0.82.
At this point, there might be only one way for Ohtani to ensure this doesn’t become a regular practice, or even a semi-regular one: He has to start hitting and he has to start hitting soon.
There was a time when Ohtani would have embraced the kind of schedule on which Roberts has him.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
