Sports
Shohei Ohtani is back on a 40/40 pace. But can Dodgers give him more RBI opportunities?
Shohei Ohtani is not publicly known, nor personally sees himself, as a quick starter at the plate.
“Overall, in my career,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton, “I don’t really have a hot start in the beginning of the season.”
This year, that’s technically true again — but only if you hold the reigning National League MVP to his own stratospheric standards.
Through the opening three weeks, all of Ohtani’s triple-slash stats are down from last year (.288/.380/.550), but only because his 2024 marks (.310/.390/.646) all topped the NL. Same story with a .930 OPS that is more than 100 points lower than his gaudy 2024 total, but still good enough to rank top 20 in the majors.
With six home runs and five stolen bases, Ohtani isn’t quite on mathematical pace for another 50-homer, 50-steal season; but is on an early track to become the first player in MLB history with multiple 40/40 campaigns.
And though he has taken a few more awkward swings than normal in the opening three weeks, he has started honing in on his power stroke, too, leading off Wednesday’s win over the Colorado Rockies with a towering 448-foot blast that almost cleared the right-field pavilion.
“I think overall,” he said, “it’s been a really good first 20 games.”
The only true area of regression so far has been in one statistical category; where a glaring drop in production has signaled a key early-season problem for the team.
After racking up 130 RBIs in 159 games last year, Ohtani has just eight in this season’s opening 20 contests. Seven of them have come via his six home runs (all but one of which were solo shots). Not until Wednesday, when he returned to the plate in a seven-run first inning and knocked in Austin Barnes with an RBI single, did he record his first hit with a runner in scoring position.
“Shohei’s in a good spot,” manager Dave Roberts said recently. “We just need to get some guys on base for him.”
That reality said more about the rest of the team’s offense than its superstar leadoff man.
From the Nos. 7-9 spots in the batting order, the Dodgers have posted a .173 batting average so far, tied for worst in the majors. Prior to Wednesday, they’d given Ohtani just nine plate appearances with runners in scoring position (tied with No. 2 hitter Mookie Betts for fewest among the team’s regulars). In four of those spots, he was walked.
It created an early-season conundrum for Roberts, as he tried to shake the team out of a recent offensive lull. Should he consider dropping Ohtani in the lineup, where he could get more RBI opportunities? Or should he give his offense more time to find its footing, and hope his bottom-half hitters began heating up at the plate?
“I just feel that there’s guys who are gonna perform better than they have,” Roberts said this week, opting for the latter. “Shohei will ultimately get those opportunities.”
And on Wednesday, he finally saw signs that could be happening.
In an 8-7 win over the Rockies, the Dodgers got five hits and a walk from their bottom three hitters.
One was provided by Barnes, the backup catcher who didn’t have a hit all season before doubling in the first in front of Ohtani.
The others came from more important pieces of the Dodgers’ lineup construction: Max Muncy and Andy Pages.
Bottom-of-the-order staples who are both batting under .200 to begin the season, Muncy and Pages had arguably their best games of the year Wednesday. Pages, the second-year center fielder, went two for four with three RBIs, continuing improvements that began during his two-homer series in Washington last week.
“He is swinging the bat a lot better,” Roberts said.
Muncy, meanwhile, reached base three times with the help of a recent adjustment to his own slumping swing.
In an effort to stay more on top of the ball at the plate this year, Muncy spent his offseason purposely trying to hit grounders and low line drives. In doing so, however, he realized he had begun lurching forward in his swing. As a result, he gave himself less time to read pitches and make proper swing decisions. And even when he did, he wasn’t driving the ball like usual.
“The ball sped up on me the first few series of the season and I really wasn’t myself,” Muncy said. “I was chasing a lot of stuff and I was unable to recognize it.”
But now, he has returned to staying back in his stance and is looking for pitches to elevate. Amid a series in which Muncy walked six times, Roberts felt he also took his best at-bat of the season against left-hander Luis Peralta on Wednesday night, launching one deep fly just foul before ripping a single into right field.
“When he’s getting on base, and it was a ton this series, then that’s a good thing,” Roberts said. “So I do think that he’s turned a corner, yeah.”
The Dodgers hope that the rest of their bottom-half hitters will do so as well.
Because the more Ohtani heats up as the season progresses, the more important it will be to have guys getting on base in front of him.
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
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All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS
Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
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After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
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