Shohei Ohtani gets a hit in his return, but Dodgers fall to Padres, fail to clinch bye
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Shohei Ohtani‘s swing was a little out in front of a slider delivered by San Diego Padres left-hander Robbie Ray. But Ohtani held back his hands long enough to extend them to the pitch and shoot it through the right side of the infield.
It wasn’t flashy. But considering it was his first at-bat in more than two weeks, in a tough matchup no less, it was a promising sign.
“It’s been a while since he’s played in a game, but it just felt like he wasn’t sped up at all,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 5-1 loss Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. “And I think he came out of it pretty well.”
The good news quickly dried up for the Dodgers after that, as they missed a chance to clinch a first-round bye with a win. But Ohtani’s return still was significant, and the success of his end-of-season tuneup likely will have playoff implications.
Ohtani went one for four with a walk and did not address reporters Wednesday and has done so only once in the last five weeks despite multiple requests.
As the Dodgers activated Ohtani from the injured list before the game, they optioned Josue De Paula to triple A. The rookie still is under consideration for the National League Division Series roster as a bat off the bench.
“This was the original thought, that once Shohei gets back, we’re going to send him out,” Roberts said. “We had a runway to give him, which we gave him and he performed more than admirably. This also, as far as the timing, just gives us an opportunity to potentially have him back for the postseason. He’s a part of the conversation, and he’s earned that, and that’s what I told him last night.”
It was Josue De Paula’s bat that earned him a call-up when Shohei Ohtani landed on the IL. And it’s his bat that’s now making his case for a postseason roster spot.
De Paula joined triple-A Oklahoma City for Game 2 of the Pacific Coast League Championship on Wednesday. And Ohtani slid into the Dodgers’ lineup, hitting second in the batting order for the first time this season, with Mookie Betts leading off against the Padres southpaw.
“I know Shohei, Mookie, they’re always on board with whatever I decide to do,” Roberts said. “I think it just makes it tougher to navigate versus left. There’s a Mookie tax [to get to Ohtani]. If you want to get to Freddie [Freeman], there’s a Will Smith tax. I like that. And versus a right-hander, I like kind of flipping those two for the same reasons.”
Ohtani, welcomed back in his first at-bat by a partial standing ovation, walked in his second plate appearance. And with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning, he appeared to have walked again.
Then Padres catcher Ethan Salas tapped the top of his helmet to challenge the ball call. And a review showed the fastball clipped the top of the strike zone. Ohtani fouled off the next two pitches before whiffing on a sinker to end the inning.
That missed opportunity rolled right into a sloppy fifth inning for the Dodgers’ defense.
Starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto had given up a two-run homer to Manny Machado the previous inning but had otherwise avoided damage.
To open the fifth, Yamamoto induced Salas to hit the ball on the ground, but it got past second baseman Tommy Edman as he dove up the middle, for a single.
Yamamoto then got a soft grounder out of Fernando Tatís Jr. But it was too soft, giving Tatís time to reach first before third baseman Max Muncy could get off a throw.
With runners on first and second, Yamamoto had a chance to contribute on defense, fielding Dustin Harris’ comebacker bunt. But Yamamoto’s throw to third sailed wide, allowing a run to score. Machado then made it 4-1 with a sacrifice fly.
Ohtani came up again in the seventh inning and put Dodgers fans on the edge of their seats by sending a long fly ball to straightaway center field. But the cheers died down as it fell shy of the fence.
“If you look back at the last couple weeks when he was active, he wasn’t really getting to that pitch,” Roberts said of the high fastball. “I think there might have been one pitch late that he squared up to left field that was at the top of the zone. But outside of that it was hard for him to catch up. I think tonight showed that he’s in a good spot physically.”
The top of the Dodgers’ order got one last chance to start a rally in the ninth inning, against star closer Mason Miller. Only Smith reached base, on a walk, and advanced to third on defensive indifference. Ohtani struck out on a slider.
“[Ohtani] certainly feels way better with the rest,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said before the game. “The biggest thing with five games to go is get him as many at-bats as we can, some rhythm and timing.”
Ohtani could get a day off in that span, Friedman said, but the Dodgers will make those decisions based on how he’s feeling.
Shohei Ohtani to return from IL Wednesday, but Dodgers still have unanswered questions in final week
After defeating the Padres, the Dodgers have five games left to round into playoff form. They get a big piece, Shohei Ohtani, back Wednesday.
“Just getting as many at-bats as he can and that rhythm and timing back before we head into October is going to be really helpful,” Friedman said.
Ohtani was not in rhythm before he landed on the IL. In the last three weeks before the Dodgers finally shelved him, he had a .130 batting average. And he had only two hits in his last seven games (26 at-bats) before the move.
“You end up making subconscious adjustments where you’re protecting yourself,” Friedman said, “and there’s just slight degradation as that’s happening that compounds over time.”
Though the Dodgers downplayed the correlation before Ohtani landed on the IL, they now hope his improved health will go hand-in-hand with better performance.
“Shohei says he feels back to where he was earlier in the year, which is great, which is a good start,” Friedman said. “As they are coming back, it’s important for them to feel that way … now the question is, as you start to load on real games and that intensity and that workload, it’s making sure that what we’ve done keeps guys in position to be at their best.”
