Everything Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Said About His 2-Way Role, Injury Status and Hitting Slump

One of many benefits Shohei Ohtani has for being elite at both hitting and pitching is that true slumps don't really exist for him in the way they do for any other MLB player.

After tossing seven shutout innings on the mound in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, Ohtani told reporters he's confident that his bat will start coming around despite a planned off day on Thursday.

"I talked to the team and I'm good with it," Ohtani said through an interpreter about his time off. "My last at-bat as a hitter yesterday was really good, so I want to continue that momentum whenever I get to hit again."

Giants vs. Dodgers (05/13/2026)

04:59

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a homer in Tuesday's 6-2 loss against the Giants. It was his first home run since April 26 and his first multi-hit game since May 6. His 11-game homerless drought was tied for his longest since joining the Dodgers in 2024.

The four-time MVP is still only hitting .213/.333/.340 in 112 plate appearances since April 13.

Despite his offensive slump, Ohtani made it clear there is no underlying physical issue hindering his performance and didn't seem to think fatigue from his work as a pitcher was impacting his bat.

"First and foremost, the fact that I'm not injured, that's a good thing," Ohtani said. "I do want to contribute more offensively. I haven't done so this year, so I'm looking forward to doing that."

One recent change the Dodgers have made to Ohtani's routine is not having him DH on the days that he pitches. He was in the lineup as a hitter for three of his first four starts, but has solely been used as a pitcher the last three times he has taken the mound.

Prior to this season, the last time Ohtani was used as a pitcher but not as a hitter in the same game was May 28, 2021.

"Ideal situation is to be great on both sides of the ball," Ohtani explained, "but how I look at it is, if I'm not contributing offensively, then I know I can contribute on the pitching side of things."

Ohtani is certainly holding his own on the mound right now, even as he tries to iron out his issues at the plate. He lowered his ERA to an MLB-best 0.82 after Wednesday's outing.

The right-hander has thrown at least six innings in each of his seven starts. He hasn't allowed a run in four of those games, with a total of 25 hits allowed and 50 strikeouts in 44 innings.

History suggests Ohtani will eventually get back on track at the plate, but even if he only remains at his current level with a 122 wRC+, he will still probably be the NL MVP frontrunner because of how impressive he has been on the mound.