Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Thinks Shohei Ohtani Was Robbed of Home Run Against Cubs
Chicago held up to its nickname of "The Windy City" over the weekend.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers' two-hole hitter Shohei Ohtani crushed a ball recorded at 110.2 mph off his bat and had a 36-degree launch angle. Without the wind, the ball would have left the yard easily, but instead of a jog around the bases, Ohtani flew out to center.
“Even the fly ball to center field had the trajectory and the exit velocity to be a home run, but the wind blowing in obviously put that to rest," said manager Dave Roberts during Friday's postgame media availability. "He’s on the fastball. Breaking balls, he’s taking balls down below the zone, which early on he was swinging at those. So I think that right now, the timing, his mechanics, seeing the baseball really well. And obviously today you saw a lot of good swings out of him.”
Ohtani finished Friday's contest 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. He was 6-for-13 in three games against the Cubs with a home run, three runs scored, and three RBIs.
After getting off to a slow start in March, Ohtani has picked it up in April. He has eight hits in his last four games including two doubles, one triple, two home runs, four RBIs, and five runs scored.
The first-year Dodger has found himself in some hot water during the start of this season. He is in the center of a gambling scandal with his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and sparked controversy with his first home run with his new club at Dodger Stadium.
However, it seems like he isn't letting off-the-field distractions affect him on the field and the Dodgers' offense could use a little more from him as they try to become the first MLB team to 10 wins.
Los Angeles begins a three-game series in Minnesota on Monday with James Paxton scheduled to take the mound in the series-opener at 4:40 p.m. PT.
