Shohei Ohtani taps into batting ability

It's not enough to turn the hype into hope, not when you've been labeled the "Babe Ruth of Japan" and are expected to dominate on the mound and crush 450-foot home runs between starts. But for Shohei Ohtani, perhaps it was a start.

The Angels' aspiring two-way player replaced his front leg kick with more of a toe-tap Monday night, and looked a little more comfortable in the box, lining a hard single to left field in four at-bats during a 4-1 Freeway Series victory in Dodger Stadium.

"I don't try to let that day's result affect me, I try to break down what I did good that day, what I did bad, and plan ahead from there," Ohtani said through an interpreter. "But I did get a hit off a really good…