Pacific Time on Monday, a somewhat late arrival by his own standard for the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6:10 p.m. home game against the Cincinnati Reds. Dodger Stadium hosted a Japanese-language tour that day. That's not unusual; Japanese fans have flocked to Los Angeles as a tourism destination ever since Ohtani's arrival in 2024.
On a game day, at least, the Japanese speakers are at least as interested in seeing their favorite player on the mound or in the lineup as they are in touring the facilities. Monday, the fans were not disappointed. About 45 minutes after he arrived, Ohtani was revealed as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter against the Reds after missing the previous four games with a variety of injuries.
He went 0-for-3 with a walk. Tuesday, the fans were not so lucky. Ohtani was held out of the lineup for the fifth time in the Dodgers' previous six games.
The weight of the injuries — principally to Ohtani's knee, biceps and neck — are obvious. Since Aug. 19, a span of 13 games, Ohtani is 6-for-49 with 21 strikeouts. He has not driven in a run in that span.
More news: Dodgers Make IL Decision About Dalton Rushing; is Shohei Ohtani Next? The hopes of Ohtani collecting a third consecutive National League MVP Award have disintegrated since the beginning of the season. He hasn't pitched since July, and manager Dave Roberts recently said the two-way star is basically out of time to ramp up a pitching program before the season is over.
In spite of Ohtani's poor recent performance and health, the Dodgers entered Tuesday's game riding a five-game winning streak. They swept the Washington Nationals between victories over the Reds and St. None of those teams will make the postseason, and the Dodgers' schedule won't get much harder until October.
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