Shohei Ohtani making up for struggles at plate after lowering league-leading ERA to 0.82

Shohei Ohtani tin simply bash immoderate helium wants connected the shot field.

Hit 50 location runs? Sure. Steal 50 bases? You got it. Do them some successful the aforesaid season? Sounds good.

Lead the majors successful earned tally average? If you accidental so.

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Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants astatine Dodger Stadium successful Los Angeles, California, connected May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way prima surely isn't hitting up to the expectations helium has acceptable for himself, owning a beingness .951 OPS, posting an OPS of implicit 1.000 successful 3 consecutive years, and hitting 54 and 55 homers successful each of the past 2 seasons, respectively.

It's truthful acold been a down twelvemonth astatine the sheet for Ohtani, who's hitting .240 with a .796 OPS. Not including the truncated 2020 season, those would beryllium the lowest marks of his career.

But helium is astir decidedly making up for it connected the mound.

After posting 7 scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants connected Wednesday, Ohtani is present pitching to an MLB-best 0.82 ERA.

Ohtani has allowed conscionable 4 earned runs connected the season, fractional of which came earlier this period against a stout Houston Astros offense, successful 44.0 innings pitched.

Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants astatine Dodger Stadium successful Los Angeles, California, connected May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

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"(The) perfect concern is to beryllium large connected some sides of the ball," Ohtani said aft his gem successful the Dodgers' 4-0 triumph implicit their NL West rivals, via The Athletic. "But however I look astatine it is if I’m not contributing offensively, past I cognize I tin lend connected the pitching broadside of things and vice versa. So I instrumentality it arsenic that."

"He wants to beryllium the champion pitcher successful baseball, and close now, he’s doing it," manager Dave Roberts added. "You tin archer he’s hyper-focused connected the mentation portion of it, and past evidently the days that helium starts, the execution."

Ohtani did not transportation successful 2024 and returned to the mound past summer, pitching to a 2.87 ERA successful 14 starts amid his 1.014 OPS, bully for his 4th MVP successful the past 5 seasons.

The Dodgers person been cautious with Ohtani's workload, sometimes keeping him arsenic a pitcher lone this season, arsenic it's good known his violative numbers instrumentality a deed erstwhile he's connected the mound, understandably so.

"It’s absorbing due to the fact that past year, determination was a batch of conversations that helium shouldn’t transportation and conscionable beryllium a hitter," Roberts said. "Now, it’s benignant of flipped connected its head. I can’t ideate what goes done his mind, but I bash consciousness clarity connected however we’re managing him. There’s nary 1 mode to spell astir it. You’re conscionable trying to beryllium fluid, and respond and respond to however he’s feeling."

But astatine the precise least, the Dodgers presently person the champion pitcher successful shot this play hitting astatine the apical of their lineup. It's similar the pre-DH era, but the pitcher is batting archetypal alternatively of ninth.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way subordinate Shohei Ohtani delivers a transportation successful the archetypal inning against the San Francisco Giants astatine Dodger Stadium successful Los Angeles, California, connected May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

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And it should astonishment cipher if, and when, Ohtani finds the bat — portion inactive mowing down everyone helium faces 60 feet, 6 inches away.

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