Amid hitting slump, Ohtani keeps up mound dominance vs. Giants - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani's return to a full-time two-way role has seen him pitch better than ever, slump like never before and take more days off than he is used to. He is less than two months away from his 32nd birthday, while attempting a full-season two-way role for the first time in four years, and conventional wisdom suggests this would be significantly harder on his body.

«Hard to say, but I do feel young,» Ohtani said. «I feel good. At my peak.»

On the mound, at least, Ohtani continues to show it.

On Wednesday night, against a San Francisco Giants lineup that seemed to be gathering momentum, Ohtani leaned on his fastball and sweeper and fired seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory that snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers' four-game losing streak. His ERA is now only 0.82, the sixth lowest through a pitcher's first seven starts since the wild-card era began in 1994.

Ohtani did that on a night when he did not hit, the third time in four turns through the rotation he was absent from the lineup for a game he started on the mound. In a rare step, Ohtani will also sit for Thursday's series finale, a reaction to the prolonged hitting slump he may or may not have broken out of Tuesday.

«I talked to the team and I'm good with it,» Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, said of the time off. «My last at-bat as a hitter yesterday was really good, so I want to continue that momentum whenever I get to hit again.»

In his first 10 games this month, Ohtani accumulated just three singles and a double in 36 at-bats. Half of his batted balls were grounders. Toward the end, he chased often. Then came Tuesday, which featured a walk, a single, a hard-hit out and, most notably, an opposite-field home run, ending a 13-game homerless