Who would’ve imagined Dave Roberts and Shohei Ohtani seeing things differently? But the reality is that intriguing in the Dodgers clubhouse.

After missing two games, Ohtani bounced back looking like his usual dominant self, and Roberts believes the brief reset played a big role in it. Ohtani, though, doesn’t exactly seem convinced. Now, the difference in opinion may look minor, but it 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 Giants, but he was included in the lineup. He played only as a pitcher. He was then dropped from the roster in the series decider the next day. Dropping a reigning NL MVP winner and a 55-HR scorer from the last year is indeed a tough decision for Roberts.

Roberts had the reason for the same. Before the Angels series, Shohei Ohtani was not performing as expected with his bat. He was slashing .240/.370/.427 with seven homers through 39 games. He had been mired in a 6-for-42 skid at the plate. So, for Roberts, getting off the usual hustle could work wonders. And considering Ohtani’s two-way workload, getting off was not a luxury.

Roberts is no stranger to offering a breather to the struggling players. Last year, Mookie Betts received the same when he was struggling at the plate. “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 said.

The strategy worked!

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 base hit in the ninth helped rout the Angels 10-1. It has now elevated Ohtani’s average to .258. However, 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. In the past, Ohtani has made a few returns from slumps without a breather. In the 2025 NLCS, Ohtani found himself 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, leaving a chance of renewal in case of any such tough decisions in the future. For now, the Dodgers are getting back their 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 is currently standing with a 0.82 ERA and 50 SOs. The numbers even started the chatter around Ohtani winning a Cy Young Award.

Previously, he’s won four straight MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year award in 2018, 2x World Series, and 4x Silver Sluggers. So, what could be left to accomplish? A Cy Young Award. His start on Wednesday against the Giants, allowing just four hits and two walks, while striking out eight hitters, is nothing less than an elite performance like Paul Skenes or Tarik Skubal.

“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 agrees.

Along with Shohei Ohtani’s dominance at the mound, Roki Sasaki is finally back to his best. Against the Angels on Sunday, he gave just 1 ER from his 7 innings, which includes 8 SOs. Sunday witnessed his signature forkball as well. So, Ohtani is dominating at the mound, and Sasaki’s return completes a vintage Japanese dominance in the Dodgers rotation.

And the crisper part is that the Dodgers are facing the Padres next.