Dodgers Takeaways: On Shohei Ohtani's August, Freddie Freeman's injury and more

ST. LOUIS – The Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves in a familiar position Sunday afternoon, once again relying heavily on the left arm of Clayton Kershaw in the home stretch of the season.

The operated left shoulder seems to be back in shape, as Kershaw delivered six scoreless innings with a solid 70 pitches and the Dodgers crowned their successful journey with a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

After all, some things never change.

“We needed him to be Clayton Kershaw,” Miguel Rojas said. “It looks like he's going to be the horse of our rotation once again.”

There's a lot at stake in this divisional race that has become much more exciting than expected. And while the rotation around him gets shakier by the day, Kershaw – months removed from the first major arm surgery of his career – looks as stable as ever.

“He was always the stopper of this team,” said Austin Barnes.

“It’s been fun watching Clayton on this journey,” said manager Dave Roberts.

Shohei Ohtani's month of August was a lesson in extremes. The favorite for NL MVP had his worst stretch of the season, allowing just 12 hits. Seven of those hits happened to go over the fence, with only Miami's Jake Burger managing more this month (nine). Ohtani punished some mistakes but struggled to maintain the rest of his offensive profile.

His strikeouts are up slightly (22.6 percent, from 22.5 percent before August). His walks are down (6.7 percent, from 12.8 percent).

“I think the hitting discipline just isn't what it is if he's right,” Roberts said. “I think the swing decisions aren't as good as they used to be.”

That put his quest for the Triple Crown on hold. He has a batting average of .290, which trails Luis Arraez (.308 entering Sunday's game), Marcell Ozuna (.307), Ketel Marte (.298), Alec Bohm (.296) and other leading NL hitters.

Ohtani's August OPS of .749 would be his lowest for a full month since he began the 2022 season with a .722 OPS in the first month.. Since July 28, he has a batting average of .147/.226/.427 in the last 18 games.

Ohtani acknowledged that there were some problems with his approach, but was told through interpreter Will Ireton that his difficulties were due to something “that is not quite where it should be mechanically.”

The striker referred to his stance in the penalty area and the extent to which it allows him to pick up the ball and make consistent hard contact.

“If I'm not at my best, that's kind of a sign to me that I'm not at my best,” Ohtani said.

“He's losing his foundation, his base, his connection to the ground,” Roberts said. “That's never a good sign for a hitter.”

Roberts viewed Saturday as a positive day. Ohtani went 1-for-5 with a 111.9 mph home run and two stolen bases. Then Ohtani went 1-for-5 again on Sunday – with a 113.5 mph home run.

Another injury concern

When Freddie Freeman came out of the X-ray machine at Busch Stadium and saw the results were negative, he and the Dodgers breathed a collective sigh of relief. Freeman jammed the middle finger of his right hand in the sixth inning Saturday night when Nolan Gorman's ground ball took an odd late bounce; the swelling alone was enough for Freeman to agree to be taken out of the game early.

That concern resurfaced Sunday morning when Freeman's pain in his middle finger worsened. The former MVP was unable to lift a bat, let alone play in Sunday's final game against the Cardinals, and he will undergo a CT scan on Monday when the Dodgers return to Los Angeles. Even if Freeman is back in the lineup, he will likely play despite the pain, Roberts said.

Contingencies are already being worked out. Max Muncy, on a rehab assignment, hit a grounder at first base on Sunday at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He took a flight to Los Angeles on Sunday night along with Tommy Edman and will likely be activated as early as Monday with Edman – a day earlier than expected. Muncy has played five innings at first base since Freeman signed with the Dodgers as a free agent ahead of the 2022 season.

“If we need him first, he can do that,” Roberts said. “Just to cover us in case Freddie's deployment takes a little longer than we think.”

Sunday was the first time since then that Freeman missed a game due to injury.

This latest setback to their lineup came less than a week after Mookie Betts returned from a broken hand, and that same weekend their rotation suffered another setback when Tyler Glasnow landed on the injured list with tendinitis in his right elbow.

“There are some injuries that we just can't control,” Ohtani said. “And obviously having guys like Freddie or Mookie is really important, it gives us a lot… it's really important for us.”

A lost year for a starter

Bobby Miller's brief period of reinvention in Oklahoma City came and went, ending with him returning to the major leagues on Saturday looking very much like the same Bobby Miller who left them.

His velocity was better, until it wasn't. He hit 99.7 mph with his third pitch of the night and stayed around 99 mph throughout the first inning, only to fade in subsequent innings, including a 95.7 mph sinker that Alec Burleson turned into a two-run home run that gave the Cardinals the lead for good. The pitch wasn't in a bad position despite a 2-0 count; the lack of velocity left him vulnerable.

It didn't help that Miller could only rely on his fastball for most of the evening. It wasn't until the middle innings that Miller managed to land a strike with his curveball. It took him until almost the end of his outing to get a feel for the changeup. Although he only allowed one walk, he didn't have much control. Miller threw four wild pitches.

“He really struggled with one arm behind his back,” Roberts said after Miller allowed four runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. His ERA in eight major league starts this year is 8.02.

The Dodgers had sent Miller to their Arizona complex before the games against Oklahoma City in hopes of restoring a pitch to center that had been out of balance all year, especially since he suffered a shoulder injury in April. Some of the core issues of his control problems with his breaking ball, he said, were that his pitch took him toward the first-base side, dropped toward his glove side and led to uncompetitive throws.

Miller viewed Saturday as progress, even though the same problems keep cropping up.

The Dodgers brought Miller back to the major leagues more by chance than anything else. Glasnow's injury has put another pitcher (along with Walker Buehler) in a situation where they have to get everything right before they can pitch in crucial games. With such a narrow lead in the division, that's far from ideal. Miller is expected to make one more start until Glasnow can return.

“That's the thinking right now, yes,” Roberts said. “But he has to continue to show progress.”

(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani fouling a pitch with his foot: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)