LOS ANGELES -- A metallic thud cut through the music blaring on the speakers and the murmurs of fans filing into the stands. It was quickly followed by gasps and cheers as those in the ballpark saw what caused it.
Shohei Ohtani had just hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium.
Roughly two hours before first pitch of Monday's series opener against the Giants, Ohtani took the field with a bat in his hands and went on to park several balls in the outfield seats, including one that cleared the Right Field Pavilion roof reminiscent of his two-way performance of a lifetime in Game 4 of last year's NL Championship Series.
It has been 10 games -- since April 26 -- since Ohtani has hit one out of the yard in a game. He has just one home run in his past 106 plate appearances.
Ohtani taking batting practice on the field was thought to be about as rare as a blue moon. Last postseason, two days before that incredible Game 4 earned him NLCS MVP honors, he hit on the Dodger Stadium field for the first time anyone could remember. He also took batting practice ahead of the World Series.
"There's some things that I want to be able to do on the field that you can only do on the field," Ohtani explained through interpreter Will Ireton at the time. He didn't go into further detail, but Dodgers hitting coaches noted how being able to see the path of the ball in the air can be beneficial for a hitter searching at the plate.
Roughly one quarter of the way through the 2026 season, Ohtani has already taken on-field batting practice three times.
Ohtani entered Monday slashing .241/.374/.418 with six home runs. He has cooled off even more in his past 16 games, going 12-for-60 (.200) with just four extra-base hits.
"I don’t know if it’s a mechanical thing with Shohei," manager Dave Roberts said. "But there’s a lot of popups, fly balls to the left fielder where, when he’s right, those are doubles and homers. When he’s not slugging, you can tell he’s not right because typically when he’s moving it forward, it’s for slug. But he’s just not synced up right now."
The Dodgers have no plan to move Ohtani from the leadoff spot in the face of his slow start, but when he's not clicking at the top of the order, there's a ripple effect down the rest of the lineup. L.A.'s star-studded offense is far more than just Ohtani, and other players have to step up as the team's offense has weathered an extended malaise of its own.
But the Dodgers can usually rely on Ohtani to set the tone from the top, and so far, he has not been doing that to his usual standard.
"If you look at the overall stat line, it's OK, but relative to who he is and what he’s done, it’s certainly south of that," Roberts said. "It certainly helps when he’s doing what he’s been doing for quite some time. The energy frees other guys up. But there are still eight other guys that are more than capable. And I think you could argue there’s a lot of guys below where they will be."
For Ohtani, maybe his third time taking batting practice will be the charm, and his pregame work will translate into the results he's been expecting.