Dodgers' Dave Roberts Defends Dalton Rushing Amid Shohei Ohtani Pitching Struggles

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has been on a tear this season, helping the team win in multiple ways.

It took some time for Ohtani's bat to come around this year, but he started the season off very strong on the mound. Ohtani came into the season with the goal of winning the Cy Young Award in the National League, and at one point, he was seen as a potential favorite.

But over his last four starts, his numbers have dropped, with many pointing to the change at catcher as the reason. Starter Will Smith went down with an injury in early June, with him last taking the field on June 5.

Ohtani made 10 starts with Smith as his catcher, posting an ERA of 0.74 while allowing only five earned runs. But since Smith's injury, backup Dalton Rushing has been his catcher, and Ohtani's numbers look very different.

Through four starts with Rushing, Ohtani has thrown 24.2 innings, allowing 14 runs (12 earned). Ohtani and Rushing have clearly not been on the same page, and it's impacted Ohtani's success on the mound.

However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts defended the young catcher despite the recent struggles from his ace.

“Some of it is Shohei hasn’t had his best stuff recently and that’s the truth,” Roberts said. “The fastball command hasn’t been what it was earlier in the season. The sweeper hasn’t been the same. He’s started using the split a little bit more recently, which he was using a lot more earlier in the season. So there’s a lot of variables outside of just saying it’s the catcher.”

The Ohtani and Rushing combination has seen a bumpy start, but it will take time for the two players to build more chemistry. The two have battled frustrations with one another, with everything coming to a head in Ohtani's start against the Minnesota Twins on June 24.

Ohtani was visibly frustrated with Rushing for a lack of challenging pitches, and it resulted in the two getting into it. This seemed to rattle Ohtani, who allowed three runs (two earned) in the second inning.

Dalton Rushing appeared to not be happy with Shohei Ohtani after a wild pitch that scored a run.

Dave Roberts had a talk with Rushing after the inning 👀 pic.twitter.com/iBgFxmyfi6
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) June 25, 2026

Rushing has spoken to Ohtani about the situation, taking accountability and vowing to be better.

“We talked a lot about what went on, where we disagreed, agreed, where we could grow,” Rushing said to The Athletic. “And a lot of that growth was to just read what I’m doing well. Don’t overthink what pitch to call; don’t try to be perfect.

“I think it’s human nature, if you’re catching a guy like Shohei, to want to be perfect. But what I’m understanding is just letting him do his thing up there and follow along.”

Both guys understand that they need to learn from one another, working together to get the job done on the field. Rushing will continue to be the catcher for Ohtani moving forward until Smith can return from injury.

The Dodgers aren't expecting Smith back until after the All-Star break, which means Rushing should get more opportunities to work with Ohtani. But as each game goes by, more reps are taken, building the needed chemistry to find success together.

“Sometimes you want to follow a scouting report, but Shohei is his own scouting report,” Rushing said. “Especially with the stuff being as good as it is, as well as his pitchability when everything is clicking. You never want to see a guy with that much talent and that kind of stuff go through an outing like that."

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