Dave Roberts might've found the perfect Dodgers balance for Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been trying to perfect the Shohei Ohtani formula all season. He pitched and hit in his first few starts, then went through a phase of pitching but not hitting. On May 13, he pitched seven scoreless innings but didn't hit, and then he got a full off-day on May 14.

Still, nothing has felt perfect. Ohtani the pitcher is firing on all cylinders. He has a 0.74 ERA through 10 starts (61 innings). Ohtani the hitter isn't slumping as dramatically as he was in early/mid-May, but he's still finding a groove.

His Wednesday start might've been his most complete game of the year. He went six shutout innings on the mound, giving up just two hits and a walk, and 3-for-4 at the plate with two walks.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game that Ohtani will get an off-day on Thursday and Will Smith will DH. This will be the first time the Dodgers are putting multiple strategies together — having Ohtani pitch and hit, then sitting him the next day — but it might be the sweet spot.

Dodgers are getting closer to figuring out the perfect cadence for Shohei Ohtani

The DH spot has changed hands a few times with Ohtani either exclusively on the mound or getting a day off. Dalton Rushing's received three starts and hit a grand slam in his first. Teoscar Hernández got the nod on May 13 and went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Smith hit a home run in his first at-bat as DH the next day, which clearly impressed Roberts. Maybe the Dodgers' DH spot is just a particularly charmed one.

The Angels used more of a willy-nilly approach with Ohtani that was based almost entirely on feel. Joe Maddon said that the key was simply communication; if Ohtani thought he felt good enough to do both, he did both.

But the last time Ohtani pitched a 160-plus inning season, he also put up one of the weaker offensive seasons of his career. That might've been good enough for the Angels, but it's not good enough for the Dodgers.

LA might continue to experiment, but the current idea they're running with makes sense. Let Ohtani leave everything out on the field during a start day, knowing that he'll get a rest day immediately after. It feels like we're getting closer and closer to seeing Ohtani at full power, and this time, the Dodgers may have really cracked the code.

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