Dodgers Are Confident Shohei Ohtani Will Break Out of Brutal Slump, But Should They Be?

For much of his tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team has won because of superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Over the last few months — and especially in their National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves — the Dodgers won in spite of Ohtani.

The Dodgers beat the Braves in four games in the NLDS, setting up a rematch with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Championship Series.

Ohtani, who started the first two games in the No. 2 spot in the lineup before being demoted to fifth and then fourth, went just 2-for-13 (.154) with zero RBIs, four strikeouts and an OPS of .421 across the four games.

Ohtani last hit a home run on Aug. 18 against the Colorado Rockies at the hitter-friendly Coors Field.

From Aug. 19 to the end of the regular season, he hit .157 across 18 games with three extra-base hits, one run batted in and an OPS of .503.

During that stretch, Ohtani went on the injured list for the first time as a Dodger. When he came back, he appeared in five regular season games, going 5-for-21 (.238).

Ohtani hasn't looked himself in the batter's box. He's chasing pitches out of the zone and not connecting on hittable pitches in the zone.

"He's not 100%," manager Dave Roberts said before Game 3 of the series, when he decided to drop Ohtani in the lineup. "But at the end of the day, he can still do a better job of staying in the strike zone. ... It's hard to have success when you're out of the zone."

Shohei Ohtani's first at-bat in the No. 5 hole came with two on and two out in the first inning.

He struck out swinging.

The Dodgers are now 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position this series.

Chris Sale struck out the side in the first. pic.twitter.com/gzqcE2Pj3W
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) October 6, 2026

Ohtani did draw a walk in NLDS Game 4, and ended up stealing second base and scoring the Dodgers' first run of the game. However, the lack of pop is concerning for a Dodgers lineup that scored just 14 runs over their four games against the Braves.

The Dodgers, however, remain confident in Ohtani turning things around before the playoffs are all said and done.

“I think Sho is the most talented player who has ever played this game,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said to reporters after the Dodgers won the NLDS. “He was obviously going through it over the summer. Took time off, which I think helped in a lot of ways. That being said, some bad habits were formed. But every time he steps to the plate, I have all the confidence in the world that something big’s going to happen.”

Roberts reiterated that same sentiment.

“It’s not what we all expect, what he expects from himself,” Roberts said. “But I do feel that [given] the talent, the care, it’s going to happen. So I think it’s just up to all of us to keep winning baseball games.

“And then at some point, he’s going to come to life.”

The Dodgers didn't need Ohtani over the final six weeks of the regular season. They clearly didn't need him to oust the Braves in the NLDS.

But at some point this postseason, the Dodgers will need Ohtani to come through in a big spot.

For now, they have all the confidence in the world that he'll do just that.

“At some point, it’s going to click for him,” Friedman said. “And the other team’s going to be in big trouble when that happens.”

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