Dave Roberts credits rest; Shohei Ohtani credits pitching day.

After missing two games, Ohtani bounced back looking like his usual dominant self, and Roberts believes the brief reset played a big role. Ohtani, though, doesn’t exactly seem convinced. This difference in opinion quietly hints at a potential flashpoint that could resurface down the road.

“He just looks more refreshed,” Roberts said after the Freeway Series finale. “I think his at-bats, he’s grinding more. He has the capacity to do that. I think the swing is in a better place. He’s not trying to manufacture swing velocity by over-swinging. Even his last at-bat, that was just a clinic on taking the right at-bat.”

Roberts dropped Ohtani from two consecutive games last week.

Ohtani was on the mound last Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants, but he was not included in the lineup. He played only as a pitcher. He was then benched the next day in the series finale. Benching a reigning NL MVP and 55-HR scorer was a tough call for Roberts.

But the skipper had clear reasons for the same.

Ohtani entered the Los Angeles Angels series in a slump: slashing .240/.370/.427 with seven homers through 39 games, and 6-for-42 at the plate.

For Roberts, a breather could reset Ohtani’s approach. But the manager is no stranger to such an approach.

Last year, Mookie Betts received the same when he was struggling at the plate. Betts experienced an uncharacteristic slump throughout the 2025 season, hitting a career-low .258. The downward slide was widely attributed to the defensive demands of transitioning to full-time shortstop and an early-season stomach virus that caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds. Dave Roberts hoped this slump would end after the All-Star Break.

But during their second-half opener weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers, Betts went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. His batting average dipped to .241 (more than 20 points worse than he had ever posted in a full season) while his OPS fell to .688 (the worst it had been all 2025). Following that, the manager benched Mookie Betts from the next day’s lineup so that he “could have a day.”

When his slump peaked with a brutal 0-for-22 postseason drought, Betts relied on his familiar, rigorous work ethic to get back on track. He focused on mechanical adjustments back home in Nashville and kept swinging until the rhythm was found. And that finally paid off in Game 6 of the World Series.

Betts lined a clutch two-run single.

“For me, with any hitter, when the quality of at-bat starts to go down consistently, I think that’s a telling sign there needs to be a break,” Roberts explained.

The strategy worked for Shotime, too!

Ohtani finished the series against the Angels, batting 6-for-13 with seven RBIs and three extra-base hits. His two-run single in the fourth and another hit in the ninth sparked a 10-1 rout. It has now elevated Ohtani’s average to .258. Yet, Shohei Ohtani disagrees with the concept of breather.

“I actually felt pretty good the day before I pitched, hitting-wise,” Ohtani countered. “I think that helped more than the off days, I feel like the posture and setup are pretty much key to a lot of my success.”

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk against the Giants before sitting out in the next two games. But in the past, Ohtani has made a few returns from slumps without a breather.

In the 2025 NLCS, Shohei Ohtani was in a deep 3-for-29 (.103). But in Game 4, he returned with 3 homers and recorded 6 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts on the mound.

Hence, for Ohtani, getting out of a slump is part of his normal schedule, but Roberts believes in better workload management. The disagreement ends here, but we have seen these scenarios unravel in other clubhouses. The most recent one in memory is how things went down between ex-Philadelphia Phillies player Nick Castellanos and his former manager, Rob Thomson.

The disagreement occurred after Thomson pulled him for a defensive replacement – a move that ended Casty’s 236-game consecutive start streak. The friction escalated behind the scenes, with reports indicating Castellanos complained about his spot in the batting order and ultimately revealed he brought a beer into the dugout during a game, resulting in lingering tension, followed by his eventual exit from the team.

But for the Dodgers, though, such a case should be far-fetched. Because LA is getting back its Japanese dominance on the mound.

Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki are putting on a show at the mound

Despite Ohtani’s struggle at the plate, his numbers at the mound are elite.

He currently holds a 0.82 ERA and 50 SOs. These numbers even started the rumors of Ohtani being a potential Cy Young winner.

Previously, he’s won four straight MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year award in 2018, 2x World Series, and 4x Silver Sluggers. A Cy Young Award is the one pending.

His start on Wednesday against the Giants, allowing just four hits and two walks, while striking out eight, is nothing but elite.

“I think he wants to win the Cy Young. I think that helps the Dodgers, too, in 2026. When he’s pitching, I just sort of let him go and…he’s in a zone,” Roberts agreed.

Along with Shohei Ohtani’s dominance at the mound, Roki Sasaki is back to his best, too.

Against the Angels on Sunday, he allowed just 1 ER in his 7 innings, recording 8 SOs. Not only was that a career-high strikeout number, but he also didn’t walk a batter for the first time in a big league start. Sunday witnessed his signature forkball, too.

Ohtani’s dominance at the mound and Sasaki’s return complete a vintage Japanese dominance in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation.