Turns out Shohei Ohtani doesn't need runners on base to terrorize Mets pitching

It was weird enough that Shohei Ohtani was slumping through his first career appearance in the postseason. But what was even weirder was how he was struggling: Ohtani entered Game 4 of the NLCS against the New York Mets on Thursday night hitless in his last 22 at-bats without a runner on base — while going 7-for-9 with at least one man on, including a monster two-run homer late in the Los Angeles Dodgers' win at Citi Field in Game 3.

It was enough to cause a minor panic in Dodgerland, and even raise some questions for manager Dave Roberts. Should Ohtani still be hitting leadoff, as he'd done just about all year? Or was it finally time to move him down in the lineup, giving him more chances to drive in runs and, theoretically, better pitches to hit with men on base and pitchers operating out of the stretch? Roberts opted for the former, choosing to stick to what had gotten L.A. to this point. And it didn't take long for Ohtani to vindicate his skipper in a big way.

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Shohei Ohtani snaps out of funk without runners on base with big home run

Ohtani hit leadoff yet again on Thursday night, and we were just one pitch into the game when Mets starter Jose Quintana grooved a 91-mph fastball middle-middle — and Ohtani didn exactly what you'd expect with it.

Make that 1-for-23 without runners on base then! It turns out that 22 at-bats worth of data isn't worth all that much, and Ohtani doesn't magically become mortal when facing pitchers out of the windup. With homers in two consecutive games, it seems like the Dodgers are finally getting their MVP rolling, and that should be a very scary thought for the rest of the league.