Shohei Ohtani’s Rare Slump: Dodgers Star Hitless in Four Straight Games for First Time Since 2022
In the world of Major League Baseball, few things are as surprising as a quiet bat from Shohei Ohtani. Yet, following the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, May 3, 2026, the baseball world was left staring at a statistical anomaly: Ohtani has gone hitless in four consecutive games. This marks the first time in nearly four years that the two-way superstar has endured such a prolonged drought at the plate.
The last time Ohtani experienced a hitless streak of this length was between May 24 and May 28, 2022, during his tenure with the Los Angeles Angels. In that span, he went 0-for-12 across five games. His current slide, an 0-for-14 stretch over the last four contests, represents a rare moment of vulnerability for a player who has redefined modern expectations for offensive consistency.
A Series to Forget in St. Louis
The weekend series against the Cardinals was particularly grueling for Ohtani. Throughout the three-game set at Busch Stadium, he failed to record a single hit, finishing 0-for-12 against St. Louis pitching. This 12-at-bat hitless streak in a single series is a career-high for Ohtani, highlighting the effectiveness of the Cardinals’ pitching staff in neutralizing the league’s most feared hitter.
In Sunday’s finale, Ohtani went 0-for-3. He did manage to snap a streak of ten consecutive plate appearances without reaching base by drawing a walk in the third inning, but the elusive base hit remained out of reach. Despite the lack of production from their designated hitter, the Dodgers managed to secure a 4-1 win, snapping a four-game losing streak that had seen the team struggle significantly with run production.
Managerial Confidence Amidst Struggle
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed Ohtani’s slump with a mixture of pragmatism and unwavering faith. Speaking to the media after Sunday’s win, Roberts acknowledged that Ohtani is feeling the weight of his high self-expectations.
“He certainly has high standards,” Roberts said. “We all do of him. I know he’s frustrated, but you can’t tell from his demeanor.”
Roberts noted that Ohtani has been working on his mechanics, an effort that seemed to show promise during the team’s previous home stand but has not yet translated to results on the road. “This series, I don’t think he felt great, in between a little bit on the pulled grounders, getting beat with the fly balls to the big part of the field,” Roberts explained. However, the manager remained optimistic: “Safe to say, fair to say that he’ll figure it out soon.”
A Team-Wide Power Outage
Ohtani’s individual struggles are reflective of a broader offensive malaise currently affecting the Dodgers. The team has failed to hit a home run in six consecutive games, their longest such drought since an eight-game homerless streak in July 2014. During their recently snapped four-game losing streak, the Dodgers were held to two runs or fewer in every game.
First baseman Freddie Freeman, who provided a bright spot on Sunday by going 2-for-4 with an RBI, was blunt about the team’s recent performance. “Offensively, we just haven’t been very good the last week,” Freeman said. “Just call a spade a spade sometimes. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. We just haven’t been very good, and we’ve got to be better.”
Looking Ahead
While a four-game hitless streak would be a minor footnote for most players, for Shohei Ohtani, it serves as a reminder of the immense pressure and scrutiny that comes with being the face of the sport. As the Dodgers prepare for their next series against the Houston Astros, all eyes will be on whether Ohtani can make the necessary mechanical adjustments to rediscover his rhythm and lead the Los Angeles offense back to its high-scoring ways.
