The Los Angeles Dodgers have landed themselves in a dilemma as soon as they discovered that even stars like Shohei Ohtani go through rough patches. In his first full year as a two-way player since his latest Tommy John surgery, Ohtani has delivered Cy Young-worthy starts. But his hitting has taken a backseat. After he took the loss against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night, Ohtani candidly spoke about his early-season struggles.

Ohtani went seven innings deep for the Dodgers during their 2-1 loss at Daikin Park. But manager Dave Roberts kept him away from the plate during his second consecutive outing as a pitcher. After the match, Ohtani spoke to the reporters via an interpreter about his offensive struggles and what it means for the team.

“Offense, including myself, has not done a great job scoring runs,” observed Ohtani, per Sportsnet LA. “If there was a situation where I was hitting well, I’m sure the team would want me to pitch and hit as well. I understand in this situation, where we just focus on the pitching, and turn the page on hitting. I understand that the team might think like that.”

Despite being impressive on the mound, Ohtani has been struggling at the plate, hitting only .240. Ohtani has gone hitless in his last 17 at-bats since April 29 against the Miami Marlins, with his BABIP dropping to .282. So, to reduce his workload and give his body enough time to recover, the Dodgers are not having Ohtani hit on his pitching days.

Aside from Ohtani’s skid, the Dodgers’ lineup is struggling as well to score enough runs. The Astros starter, Peter Lambert, held them off to zero runs till the seventh inning despite Freddie Freeman’s first-inning double and a bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth. Pinch hitter Alex Call scored on Kyle Tucker’s right-field single once relief pitching took over in the eighth with two outs.

On Tuesday, Ohtani didn’t have his best command on the mound, yet his velocity was enough to strike out eight Astros hitters. He threw 89 pitches, allowing four hits and two home runs, his first of the season, as his ERA went up to 0.97.

Ohtani gave up solo homers to Christian Walker and Braden Shewmake on fastballs in the second and third innings. He eliminated Jose Altuve with a dialed-up fastball, clocking 101 mph, after giving up back-to-back infield singles in the fifth.

“The hits were homers, so in that sense, that wasn’t ideal,” remarked Ohtani, per Sportsnet LA. “It was really mislocated, completely outside of where I was intending to. If the execution was better, I think it wouldn’t have been a homer. But they also put in good swings as well.”

When asked about whether the workload of a starter is affecting his hitting quality, Ohtani denied the possibility. However, he did admit his hitting slump is lasting longer than usual.

“I don’t think so personally, that pitching has been affecting my hitting. But at the same time, it has been a little bit longer than my expectations, in terms of the hitting side of things,” Ohtani noted. “I have been getting on base, which is a good thing. I just wanna make sure the quality of the balls in play is better. It’s not ideal that I’m trying to find that in the game, but I just have to continue to do what I’m supposed to do.”

In 154 plate appearances this season, Ohtani has reached 54 total bases this season. Despite playing almost every game, Ohtani has clocked only 12 extra-base hits, including 6 homers with 26 walks. Compared to his last year’s 1.014 OPS season, the Japanese has a .814 OPS so far in the season.

However, Ohtani’s hitting slumps come every season. Last season, he had a 26-game rough stretch, where he hit only .188. The year prior, he hit .139 over 17 matches. However, he has come back stronger each time to deliver a 54 and 55-homer season in the last two years. The Dodgers would hope for the same this year, too.

Meanwhile, Miguel Rojas came to Ohtani’s defense after the Dodgers lost to the Astros on Tuesday night.

Miguel Rojas defends Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani was limited to pitching only for the third time this season. He took the loss on Tuesday despite throwing an impressive seven innings, except for the pair of homers he allowed. He now holds a 2-2 record over six starts.

In the low-scoring game, the Dodgers’ loss was more due to a quiet offense rather than their pitching lapses. Miguel Rojas also believes the same.

“He’s doing his job. He’s pitching, he’s doing everything he can to help the team win. And we as an offense need to find ways to score runs for him,” Rojas reportedly stated. “It’s not because he’s not in the lineup that we’re not scoring runs. He’s just focusing on pitching on those days. It’s really hard to do what he’s doing. He’s taking the ball every five or six days, and he’s doing what he’s supposed to do to win the game.”

The Dodgers went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position against the Astros. They left eight men on base by the end of the game. Rojas himself went hitless in his four at-bats. In the top of the fourth inning, Rojas grounded out with the bases loaded to end the inning. He was also the only Dodger to ground into a crucial 4-6-3 double play to end the seventh inning.

Rojas further added, “So it’s on us. And we have plenty of hitters in this lineup that can get the job done. We haven’t been able to do it the last couple starts. But we’re looking forward to do it the next 20 starts.”

Shohei Ohtani’s hitting and the Dodgers’ lineup will get another chance to wake up as Wednesday’s match decides which team will clinch the series.