Dave Roberts Details Shohei Ohtani Reaction to Breaking HR Duck

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani finally looked like himself again Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk, and manager Dave Roberts described the emotional change he saw in the reigning MVP afterwards.

Ohtani entered Tuesday’s game on an 11-game streak without a home run, and has struggled to put the ball in play since the beginning of the month. After he hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the first, Ohtani stepped up again in the bottom of the third inning and cleared the left-center field wall with a 106 mph line drive.

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“Relief,” Roberts said when asked what he saw from Ohtani in the dugout afterwards. “He smiled, he laughed. I just think that he’s gonna feel good about the offensive side tonight. … When your best player is doing what he’s capable of doing, it just adds that energy into the dugout and frees guys up a little bit, too.”

Despite Ohtani’s return to form, though, the Dodgers still ultimately lost the game—causing even more worries about the offense.

May 12, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) acknowledges the Dodgers bullpen and runs the bases after hitting a one run home run against San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Adrian Houser (not pictured) during the third inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Why Haven’t the Dodgers Been Able to Score Runs?

The Dodgers have put together a few wins in May, but one of the bigger issues has been their ability to capitalize on favorable situations.

“Our margins, even on the offensive side, are just more finite,” Roberts said after Tuesday’s loss. “You get a guy on second base to lead off an inning, and you’ve got to get him to third, and then you’ve got to get that point across. And we’re just not doing that, on top of not slugging and not creating a bunch of traffic and stress.”

The Dodgers have had 10 at-bats with the bases loaded since the beginning of the month, and only one of those at-bats has resulted in a hit. Two of those 10 instances came in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday while the Dodgers trailed by four, but neither Max Muncy nor Andy Pages—who have been among the Dodgers’ hottest hitters during their rough patch—could get the job done.

While this isn’t the only problem for the Dodgers at the moment, their inability to take advantage of big situations such as that lately has dearly cost them, and will continue to do so while they struggle to find runs via the long ball.

LA has just 22 home runs over their last 23 games, which ranks 22nd in MLB during that stretch.

Ohtani will not be present in the Dodgers’ lineup for the final game of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, but will hope the offense he generated Tuesday can spread to the rest of the team. Instead of grabbing a bat, the reigning MVP will take the mound and look to continue his dominant run to start the season.

Can the Dodgers’ bats snap out of it in the series finale?

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