By Gus "Walk-Off" Fields
Shohei Ohtani struck out four times and went 0-for-4 as the Dodgers dropped an 8-6 decision to the Cardinals on Wednesday night, and afterward manager Dave Roberts didn't dress it up. Ohtani is "not close to optimal" right now, Roberts said, and "visibly" laboring — blunt words from a manager who doesn't usually editorialize on his star's form, according to ESPN. Roberts said he's weighing giving Ohtani a day off.
The slump comes at an awkward time. The Dodgers are jockeying for playoff positioning, and Ohtani remains the engine of their lineup even in a down stretch. Four strikeouts in one game is rare for a hitter of his caliber and discipline; Roberts' willingness to say so publicly suggests the concern goes beyond one bad box score.
There's a second layer to the story. Roberts also said this week that he believes Ohtani is "in a good spot" physically as he continues working back from Tommy John surgery — but the team still has no timeline for when, or whether, he'll pitch again this season, ESPN reported. The two updates sit awkwardly next to each other: a hitter struggling in the box, a pitcher whose return remains an open question, both housed in the same player the Dodgers need healthy for October.
Nothing here is a crisis yet. Slumps end, and rehab timelines are rarely linear. But with the Cardinals loss fresh and the calendar creeping toward the postseason, Roberts has a decision to make about how much to lean on a player who is, by his own manager's account, not quite right.
Final score's the last thing that mattered here.
— Compiled from reporting by ESPN.
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