To shut out the New York Yankees on the road in Game 5 of the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers must unleash their whole arsenal of weaponry. All year long, they have been led by their star designated hitter, Shohei Ohtani, but his manager, Dave Roberts, has not been pleased with his recent performance at the plate.
Dodgers: Discipline problems could be the cause of Shohei Ohtani’s World Series skid.
In Game 2 of the Fall Classic, Ohtani had a subluxation injury to his left shoulder, which he is now overcoming. He is striking.Through the Dodgers’ first four games, he has a 133/.278/.200 record and appears to be a whole different version of himself. Yes, you read correctly.
The 30-year-old talent has recorded one hit, one walk, two strikeouts, and one run scored since suffering the injury. Surprisingly, the member of the 50-50 club has not stolen a base during the World Series or the whole postseason. In Game 4, he was spotted gripping his shoulder while he struggled through discomfort.
He’s having trouble at the plate. According to Matt Borelli of Dodgerblue, Roberts thinks he knows why, and it has nothing to do with his injury specifically:
It’s just the pursuit, in my opinion. You can see it. It hasn’t been ideal to not take the base and chase, and there are some significant at-bats that could lead to a walk.
By listening to the management, Ohtani can assist the Dodgers in completing the World Series.
Despite Ohtani’s impressive 26.6 percent chase percentage during the regular season, which put him in the 61st percentile of MLB players, Roberts believes his plate discipline is lacking.His NL MVP favorite should get more walks and let the game come to him, according to the Dodgers’ primary playcaller.
Even though he is injured, Freddie Freeman’s explosive bat has helped Los Angeles thus far, but if he improves in Game 5, he might provide Freeman and the rest of the team’s all-star batting order the boost they need to finally quiet the Yankees.
