SAN FRANCISCO — Shohei Ohtani delivered a masterpiece, six shutout innings of pure dominance, striking out seven without issuing a single walk while touching triple digits deep into the outing. It was the kind of performance that should have been the headline, the kind of ace-level, empty-the-tank, playoff-intensity stuff that makes baseball fans stop and stare. Instead, it became the backdrop for another embarrassing chapter in what is rapidly becoming a crisis for the Los Angeles Dodgers offense. For the second straight night against a San Francisco Giants team that entered this series with a losing record and a rotation full of question marks, the Dodgers wasted a gem. The bats have gone completely silent, and the frustration is boiling over.

The numbers are staggering and unacceptable for a team with championship aspirations and the highest payroll in baseball. Over the last two games, the Dodgers have managed exactly one run, and that came on a walk. Not a hit, not a home run, not a clutch double, a walk. That is not just a slump, that is an indictment of an offense that has completely disappeared at the worst possible time. The Dodgers have now lost four of their last five games against the Giants and Colorado Rockies, two teams that were supposed to be pushovers. Instead, Los Angeles is staring at a potential sweep in San Francisco, and the frustration is palpable.

Ohtani was nothing short of extraordinary on the mound. He escaped real trouble in the sixth inning with runners in scoring position and two outs, reached back and simply said no, striking out the final hitter and walking off the mound fired up. His ERA is now under 0.50 for the season, a ridiculous number that underscores just how dominant he has been every time he takes the ball. This was not just good, this was October intensity in the middle of April. He looked like the best pitcher in the National League, and his teammates on the mound, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, are giving the Dodgers three legitimate aces at the top of the rotation. The pitching is not the problem, it has never been the problem.

But the offense, that is a different story entirely. Ohtani himself went 0-for-4 at the plate, snapping his on-base streak at 53 games, tying Shawn Green for the Los Angeles Dodgers era record. The streak is over, and so is any pretense that this offense is clicking. The numbers are alarming when Ohtani pitches. In 18 regular season starts with the Dodgers between 2025 and 2026, his batting average drops to .203 with only two home runs. That is not the two-way superstar who redefined the game, that is a player being stretched too thin. The question that must be asked, and it is an uncomfortable one, is whether the Dodgers are squeezing too much out of one player on days he pitches.

The mental and physical toll of being a starting pitcher and a designated hitter on the same day is immense. Former pitcher Travis Rodgers, now an analyst, explained it perfectly. The physical part is what you train for, but the mental part is where the real challenge lies. A pitcher spends every moment between innings resetting, analyzing, preparing for the next hitter. Ohtani does not get that luxury. He has to go from the mound to the batter’s box, from thinking about pitch sequences and runner tendencies to trying to get on base against a fresh arm. It is a mental marathon that few players in history have ever attempted, and the early returns suggest it might be too much.

The Dodgers have options. Dalton Rushing is nuclear hot right now, and he could easily serve as the designated hitter on days Ohtani starts. Dave Roberts has hinted that the team is open to giving Ohtani rest days from hitting when he pitches, and Ohtani himself seems more open to the idea than ever before. That is the most important factor. If the player is willing to adjust for the good of the team, then the decision becomes much easier. The Dodgers have the luxury of a deep roster and a comfortable lead in the standings. They can afford to experiment, to tinker, to find the right balance. But they need to act before this becomes a pattern that costs them games.

The rest of the lineup is not helping. Kyle Tucker, the big-money free agent acquisition, continues to struggle, striking out at an alarming rate and looking completely out of sync. He is pressing, trying to make an impression on a new team and a new fan base, and it is backfiring. The coldness has become contagious. When one hitter struggles, they all seem to struggle. That is the nature of baseball, but it does not make it any less frustrating for a team that expects to score runs in bunches. The Dodgers have now been shut out for the first time this season, and it came against a pitcher with a seven-plus ERA who had been getting hammered by right-handed hitters all year.

The bullpen also had a rough night, with Jack Dryer surrendering a three-run home run to the number nine hitter in the seventh inning of a scoreless game. Dryer has been excellent overall, with an 80 percent success rate in his appearances, but the bad ones are magnified when the offense is nonexistent. The margin for error is razor thin when you cannot score, and every mistake becomes a disaster. The Dodgers need their bats to wake up, and they need it now.

The series finale today is a 12:45 early start, and the Giants are sending Logan Webb to the mound. Webb is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but he has struggled this season with an ERA over five. He has allowed at least seven hits in three of his starts. This is the kind of game where a struggling offense can either break out or sink further into despair. The Dodgers need to avoid a sweep, and they need to do it against a pitcher who is due for a bounce-back performance. The pressure is on, and the spotlight is bright.

This is not the time for panic, but it is the time for honest assessment. The Dodgers have been here before. They had worse stretches last season and still won the World Series. But that does not make the current situation any less embarrassing. A team with this much talent, this much payroll, and this much expectation cannot afford to go silent against inferior competition. The bats are missing, and the clock is ticking. The Dodgers need to find their swing, or this road trip will go from disappointing to disastrous.