Ohtani level-headed amid slump: 'My first experience in the postseason'
Shohei Ohtani is keeping things in perspective as he battles through an October slump while the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are tied at one game apiece in the National League Championship Series.
"This is my first experience in the postseason,’" Ohtani said Tuesday, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. "So, I can't really rely on the experiences or my reflection in the past. But what I do know is that we've been playing against good teams, better teams, with their best pitchers. So, being able to get base hits, put up results, isn't as easy maybe as it could be."
Ohtani is slashing .222/.344/.333 with one home run, five RBIs, zero stolen bases, and 12 strikeouts over 32 plate appearances in the 2024 playoffs. The NL MVP favourite recorded an unprecedented 54-homer, 59-steal campaign to go along with a 1.036 OPS during the regular season.
The 30-year-old superstar is also 0-for-19 with the bases empty but 6-for-8 with men on in the postseason while serving as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn't plan to move Ohtani out of the leadoff spot and believes it's only a matter of time before the two-time AL MVP breaks out.
"I think it's isolated," Roberts said, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "There have been times that he has to reset as all hitters do. Sometimes certain pitchers sort of kind of trigger bad habits. And you've got to identify that to then reset. ... But to think that I'm going to move Shohei to the four (spot) or the three (spot), that's just not going to happen."
The NLCS shifts to New York's Citi Field for Game 3 on Wednesday.