The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t lost a series since facing the Atlanta Braves—who have the best record in MLB—from May 8-10, and first baseman Freddie Freeman believes it has everything to do with superstar Shohei Ohtani’s return to form.
Since the end of that series, Ohtani has the highest wRC+ in MLB (226) with just two other players above the 200 mark—Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto. The Dodgers are 15-6 since that series.
“That’s why we’ve been winning a lot,” Freeman said. “When you have the greatest player of all time playing this game on your team, and he’s hot like he is right now, it’s fun to watch, fun to be a part of. It’s nice when he gets on. It seems like every single time he’s creating havoc on the bases, extra-base hits. And we get to watch him do everything tomorrow.
“I mean, when he’s on base, when he’s feeling good, it just kind of trickles into everybody else. He’s leading off the game with doubles, triples, singles, getting on base, walks. When he’s feeling good, he works the counts. Like I said, he’s the greatest player there is. So when the greatest player is going well, usually good things happen for the team.”
At the end of their series against the Braves, the Dodgers sat level at the top of the division with the San Diego Padres. Now, though, they have a six-game lead at the top of the division.
What Has Shohei Ohtani Done Over the Last Month?
On his way to a 226 wRC+ since May 10, Ohtani has hit four homers with 17 RBIs across 20 games at the plate. He has a staggering 14.6% walk rate, which is quite a ways above the league average, and has an OPS of 1.186 while batting .392.
Offensive prowess aside, though, Ohtani had quite the month on the mound as well. Since May 11, Ohtani has made three starts for the Dodgers, and all three have resulted in wins. He allowed just one earned run in his three starts since then, pitching a total of 18 innings for a 0.50 ERA during that stretch.
The Dodgers have clearly made an improvement since their last series loss, and Ohtani’s MVP-level performances have clearly made their impact on the rest of the team.
Do you think Shohei Ohtani’s performances have taken the Dodgers to another level as of late?
One Response
All I can say is, I can’t wait to see Ohtani play, more than ANY other player.