Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager, expressed guarded optimism about Shohei Ohtani's performance despite his struggles in the NLDS against the Braves, where he went 2-for-13 and is still dealing with knee and arm injuries. Although Roberts acknowledges that there are no current signs of a turnaround, he maintains faith in Ohtani’s talent and resilience, hoping for an improvement similar to last year's postseason surge. For Game 1 of the NLCS against the Brewers, Roberts expects Ohtani to focus on getting on base and taking good at-bats rather than relying solely on his power hitting.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
MILWAUKEE –– Dave Roberts struggled to explain his belief.
asserted
Roberts → struggle → belief
When asked for the umpteenth time this week about any positive signs he saw from slumping and injury-hampered slugger Shohei Ohtani in the opening round of the playoffs, the Dodgers’ manager couldn’t give a clear reason for optimism.
asserted
manager → ask → optimism
During his 2-for-13 performance in the National League Division Series against the Braves, Roberts thought Ohtani “did a good job of controlling the [strike] zone.”
asserted
Ohtani → think → zone
He said he “saw some better swings” for the 32-year-old, and liked that he at least reached base in all four games (with the help of a couple walks).
asserted
he → say → walks
Still, Roberts didn’t try to pretend the four-time MVP looked to be on the verge of a breakout.
asserted
MVP → try → breakout
He, like everyone else, saw a version of Ohtani almost unrecognizable to what the Dodgers have become accustomed to over the last three years.
asserted
Dodgers → see → years
So, why exactly has the skipper continued to insist that Ohtani will “come to life” at some point in this postseason?
asserted
Ohtani → continue → postseason
“There’s nothing right now I’m going to hang my hat on
asserted
I → ’ → hat
,” he conceded, “outside of, I just believe in the person and the talent …
asserted
I → concede → person
I’m just never going to count Shohei out.”
asserted
I → go → Shohei
For now, such blind faith is as good as the Dodgers can muster when it comes to Ohtani, who was slated to hit cleanup in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
asserted
who → muster → Sunday
They know the two-way star is still limited by left knee and right arm injuries.
asserted
star → know → injuries
They are well aware he hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18, mired in a 22-game slump since then (including the regular season and playoffs) in which he has hit .157 and collected only one RBI.
asserted
he → hit → RBI
However, hope continues to abound in what feels like an increasingly unlikely turnaround.
asserted
what → continue → turnaround
“I still think if he’s in the batter’s box, he’s still a threat,” Roberts said.
asserted
Roberts → think → box
“He swung the bat well against these guys last postseason.
asserted
He → swing → guys
Now it’s just up to Shohei to understand that and control the strike zone.
asserted
it → ’ → zone
They’re just not going to give in to him regardless of how he might be swinging the bat over the last couple months, in my opinion.
uncertain
he → go → opinion
Indeed, it was at this stage of last year’s playoffs that Ohtani emerged from a more routine, non-injury-triggered slump.
asserted
Ohtani → emerge → slump
After going 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts in the NLDS, then just 2-for-11 in the first three games of the NLCS against the Brewers, he exploded for an historic three-homer, 10-strikeout performance in the team’s pennant-clinching Game 4 victory, earning him series MVP honors.
asserted
he → go → honors
This time, the Dodgers’ expectations are much more tempered.
asserted
expectations → temper → ?
Roberts only wanted to see Ohtani –– who has not spoken to reporters since before the start of last week’s division series –– find ways to “just get on base [and] take good at-bats,” especially against presumptive Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1 of this year’s rematch.
asserted
who → want → rematch
“Shohei is known for his slug, but when you’re facing Jacob, it’s just you’ve got to take good at-bats,” Roberts said.
asserted
Roberts → know → bats
“If you run into a homer, great.
asserted
you → run → homer
But if you can earn a walk, fantastic.”
asserted
you → earn → walk
For Ohtani and the rest of his Dodgers teammates, that process began during a Saturday night workout at American Family Field, when they tried to calibrate themselves for Misiorowski’s MLB-best 105 mph fastball by not only taking pitches off a velocity machine, but doing so from several steps in front of the plate to simulate the speed of his unprecedented heater.
asserted
they → begin → heater
“That’s actually an Albert Pujols drill,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said.
asserted
Bates → ’ → ?
“When Albert was with us in ’21, he used to do that every day before he started.
asserted
he → use → that
So it just gets the transition [of your swing to happen] quicker and just [trains] the overall tempo.
asserted
transition → get → tempo
Obviously, Misiorowski throws hard, so it’s a good drill for that.”
asserted
it → throw → that
For Ohtani, in particular, the focus of his rare on-field BP was “just trying not to flip the barrel so soon,” Bates said, theorizing that Ohtani –– likely because of his injuries –– has been overexerting himself on swings to try and create his normal bat speed and power at the plate.
asserted
Ohtani → try → plate
“I think it happens incrementally,” Bates said.
asserted
Bates → think → ?
“I don’t think that guys necessarily know when they’re swinging harder.
asserted
they → think → ?
It just happens so minute and such in small little samples that eventually adds up to too much effort.
asserted
that → happen → effort
So I think that any drills that you can do to control the effort level will always be beneficial.”
asserted
you → think → level
The mental cue the hitting staff has given Ohtani: Focus on sticking a controlled finish with his swing, and “reverse engineer” more consistent mechanics from that.
asserted
staff → give → that
“His work’s been great in the cages, and even into the games too,” Bates said.
asserted
Bates → say → games
“I think it was more about just, again, [about finding] the feels that he wants to feel.”
asserted
he → think → that
At this point, it’s just the latest reason for cautious optimism that the Dodgers will be clinging to.
asserted
Dodgers → ’ → that
They don’t know exactly how, or why, or when it might happen.
uncertain
it → know → ?
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
