MLB – Endurance and early bumps: Ohtani goes 7 innings but runs out of room at the fence.

Shohei Ohtani: Dominant on the mound, then let down by a silent bat

Even when Shohei Ohtani comes close to perfect, baseball still finds a way to bite back. On Tuesday night in Houston, the Japanese star delivered his longest start of the season, working seven strong innings against the Astros. But despite eight strikeouts and an ERA stuck at a tiny 0.97, the Dodgers still fell 2-1. Ohtani gave everything, even touching 101 mph to shut down Jose Altuve in a key spot, but his offense left him hanging.

The warrior rests: Ohtani left out of the lineup

For the second straight time in one of his starts on the mound, Dave Roberts decided to leave Ohtani’s bat in the rack. The idea? Give him a physical and mental reset to snap out of his current 0 for 17 skid at the plate. If the Dodgers boss is pointing to the strain of Ohtani’s unique two-way workload, the man himself is keeping it simple: “Personally, I don’t think pitching affects my hitting, but I understand the team wants me to focus on one job and turn the page.”

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Let’s do it

Two rookie mistakes paid for in full

It was not a spotless night for the National League’s pitcher of the month. Ohtani gave up his first two home runs of the year to Christian Walker and Braden Shewmake on 98.7 mph fastballs that caught too much of the plate. “Those were bad pitches, the exact opposite of what I wanted to do,” Ohtani admitted. Even so, outside those two slip-ups, he was dominant, allowing just four hits and showing again why he is the undisputed ace of Los Angeles’ rotation.

An offense running on empty

The real problem was in the Dodgers’ dugout. Even with an early double from Freddie Freeman, L.A.’s hitters could not produce until the eighth inning. Miguel Rojas did not hide his frustration after the game, saying the team was “pressing” too hard to force something instead of just letting the game come to them. It is rough seeing a start like Ohtani’s wasted by so little help at the plate, especially with the usual firepower this group carries.

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