Despite Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani being in the midst of a hitting slump, the team still was able to beat the Philadelphia Phillies in four games and advance past the NLDS. With the Dodgers now heading to the NLCS, catcher Will Smith believes the team has not reached its full potential due to Ohtani.
It was no doubt a disappointing series for Ohtani, who hit one-for-18 against Philadelphia, which included striking out nine times, which is a rare sight for the superstar slugger. Smith would go on to say after the series win that there is “another gear” to Los Angeles, which is Ohtani, and how he anticipates a big bounce back for the 31-year-old, according to The Los Angeles Times.
“I think there’s another gear,” Smith said. “Look at Shohei [Ohtani].”
“He didn’t do much this series,” Smith continued. “I expect next series for him to come out and hit like five homers. That’s just who he is.”
Dodgers' Dave Roberts points out Shohei Ohtani's quiet NLDS
As the baseball world figures out how the Phillies kept the Dodgers' star in Ohtani quiet in the NLDS, manager Dave Roberts spoke before Game 4 and gave a few reasons. While he believes that left-handed pitchers are part of it, he pointed out how Ohtani's “decision-making hasn't been good,” according to Sports Illustrated.
“I think the lefties is part of it, but I just think that his decision-making hasn’t been good,” Roberts said. “You can see, it’s balls in/off, and he’s really not giving himself a chance to hit a mistake. I just think that he’s in between a little bit, but the swing decisions are just not where they need to be right now. That’s kind of what I see, decision-making.”
At any rate, fans know what Ohtani can do this season; he hit 55 home runs and 102 RBIs to go along with a .282 batting average, with Max Muncy agreeing that the team has “another gear” ready to be unleashed.
“I still think there’s another gear in there,” Muncy said. “I don’t think we fully reached where we can be at. And that’s not saying we are, and that’s not saying we aren’t. But I still think there’s a whole other level in there we haven’t reached yet.”
Los Angeles awaits the winner between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers as they're tied 2-2 in their NLDS series.
