It was supposed to be a celebration. Shohei Ohtani’s birthday weekend earlier this month brought balloons, cheers, and a packed crowd at Dodger Stadium, but not the outcome fans hoped for. The Dodgers dropped a second straight game to the Houston Astros, and while this one wasn’t the blowout Game 1 became, the loss still stung. Especially for Ohtani, who delivered two brilliant scoreless innings on the mound but couldn’t help the team with his bat.
After the game, the Japanese didn’t sugarcoat it. “Not quite happy with my offensive contribution,” he said bluntly, acknowledging the team’s slump, before further adding, “We’ve had a losing streak… It’s really important for us to win the next offensive and go home.” The usually reserved superstar sounded frustrated, not just with himself, but with the Dodgers offense as a whole.
Ohtani’s comments deeply resonated with Tyler Glasnow, who peeled back the curtain on his teammate’s mindset while speaking on Foul Territory. “He went and pitched his last time, shoved, was sitting a hundred, had a bunch of K’s, they had no chance,” Glasnow said. “And I went up to him like, ‘Hey man, great job pitching.’ And he goes, ‘No, I went 0-for-4.’”
Despite looking sharp on the mound in his last start before the break, Shohei Ohtani wasn’t pleased because he went 0-for-4 at the plate.
Tyler Glasnow: “I think the standard he holds himself to is extremely impressive.” pic.twitter.com/MqMi39vv48
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 21, 2025
It was that moment, Glasnow said, that truly impressed him. “The standard he holds himself to is extremely impressive… Both [pitching and hitting] have to be ironed out for him to feel satisfied,” he added.
Even on nights where most players would ride high off a lights-out pitching performance, Ohtani only sees the gap, the at-bats he didn’t convert, the runners he didn’t bring home. That elite-level dissatisfaction is what sets him apart, but also what can weigh heavily during a team-wide slump.
Still, Ohtani remain L.A.’s best shot at turning things around. And with teammates like Glasnow speaking up and holding the mirror of admiration to his perfectionism, maybe the Dodgers are just one spark away from igniting again.
Dodgers manager backs Shohei Ohtani after another sweep
Dodgers walked off the field on Sunday to a wave of concerned murmurs. Their 6–5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers marked a sixth consecutive defeat at home, their longest skid at Dodger Stadium since 2017. That loss capped off a brutal stretch: 10 losses in their last 12 games, including two sweeps at the hands of the Brewers in under two weeks. A team once poised for cruise control now finds itself clinging to rhythm, identity, and answers.
But amid the chaos, one constant has been Shohei Ohtani. Even when the team stalls, the two-way marvel continues to show up as he did on Sunday with a two-run homer. “He’s doing everything we need from him,” manager Dave Roberts said after the latest loss.
The sense of urgency around the team is noticeable. The lineup shuffle, with a slumping Mookie Betts being move back to leadoff and Ohtani being slotted in at No. 2, reflects a search for a spark. It’s clear Ohtani is the Dodgers’ best shot at reversing course. With three innings lined up for his return to the rotation on Monday, the team is counting on the Japanese big time again.
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