ST. LOUIS —
Shohei Ohtani did his usual toe-tap before planting his front foot firmly in the batter’s box in the fifth inning Saturday night, his body remaining upright and balanced as he unleashed a violent swing and sent a 111.9-mph laser into the right-field bullpen in Busch Stadium for his 38th home run of the season.
Maybe that will be the swing that gets the Dodgers slugger out of a three-week slump, or maybe not. The leadoff man has hit .147 (11 for 75) in 18 games since July 28, but six of those hits have left the yard, so it’s not as if the occasional long ball has helped Ohtani lock in at the plate.