Shohei Ohtani hasn’t been playing like his usual self for quite a while now. Injuries have impacted him throughout the year, and are the likely cause of the second-half slump he endured, which has now leaked into the postseason.
Ohtani played in just 47 games during the second half of the season, and by his standards, his numbers were rather underwhelming. After hitting 22 home runs and recording 58 RBIs and a .953 OPS in 88 games during the first half, Ohtani had a .772 OPS with eight homers and 23 RBIs after the All-Star break. He walked less often, struck out more and saw his batting average dip from .293 to .245 between the first and second halves of the season.
