The two-way path is unique, but it’s just as delicate. Just this Sunday against the Washington Nationals, Shohei Ohtani had his second pitching start for the Dodgers. He threw one scoreless inning, 18 pitches, out of which 12 were strikes. The Japanese struck out Luis Garcia Jr. and would’ve successfully retired all three batters if not for Mookie Betts’ miscue. Later, the three-time MVP went 2-for-5 with a home run along with a triple – 3 runs scored and 5 RBIs.
Now, as legendary as this two-way transition sounds, it’s just as concerning. Dave Roberts admitted himself that even though Ohtani shows no signs of fatigue, he would still like to play it safe by making some minor tweaks to his role. That starts with moving him from his leadoff role. Roberts believes that will help the Dodgers to preserve his energy.
“I think right now we’ll play it status quo, but you know, coming out of this one (start against the Nationals), it might make more sense to drop to second or third or fourth,” the manager said after Ohtani’s outing against the Nationals. “Right now, we’ll remain status quo. I have not seen signs of fatigue,” he added.
Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
Roberts’ plan might come in the way of the new vision Ohtani has set for himself. His pitching form in the second outing was better than in his first outing. However, he wasn’t entirely satisfied. “I’ve been able to come back to game action earlier than expected. In that sense, I do feel like I do have to work on some things,” Ohtani said. “But at the same time, I do feel like I can perform better, even better than I used to be able to perform.”
Well, that comes from a player who has achieved ridiculous feats on the diamond—he wants to perform even better on the mound than he “used to.” Perhaps for the Angels. Well, he didn’t mention their name; however, the Angels are the only other MLB team he previously pitched for, before joining their cross-town rivals.
With the Angels, Ohtani created history as he was the only one in the league to deliver 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. This season, with the world series champions, he is leading the NL with home runs, slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+. Now that he wants to surpass his Angels version, he strives to outdo himself.
Dodgers don’t have a timeline to expand Ohtani’s starts
Shohei Ohtani might be back to full-length pitching starts sometime this season. However, the Dodgers are not hinting at a fixed timeline as of now. In his Sunday outing, the plan was to let the star pitch one inning and the Dodgers stuck tight to that as they are staying cautious.
There was a little chance that he would return to the second inning as well. But Mookie Betts’ miscue ruled that idea completely out. “Overall, I was able to relax much better compared to my last start…That was the original plan, and I’m looking forward to adding more innings and more pitches,” Ohtani said.
Well, Ohtani is certainly eyeing more innings and more pitches, but the Dodgers will be balancing it strategically. Sooner or later they will take him off from DH to manage his health.
Moreover, he wants to get to his best pitching form. During his stint with the Angels, he had a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts. It was stellar. He is now aiming even higher than that in a Dodgers’ uniform. That too, without sacrificing his at-bats to cement himself as the league’s best designated hitter. Remarkable, isn’t it?
The post Dave Roberts Teases Major Ohtani Change as Dodgers Star Vows to Surpass His Angels Version appeared first on EssentiallySports.