Shohei Ohtanis return inspires little confidence as he struggles in Dodgers win

Suddenly, there’s an uncomfortable irony to Shohei Ohtani’s walk-up music.Every time the dulcet tones of Michael Buble singing “…and I’m feeling good” come on, the Dodgers have to hope their two-way star does too.For the first time in almost a week on Monday, Ohtani was feeling good enough to return to the Dodgers’ lineup, ending a streak of four-straight games missed previously while he was managing injuries to his right arm and left knee.However, whatever was ailing him at the plate before his recent absence –– when he went 6-for-46 over a 12-game stretch from Aug.19 to Sept.

2 –– had clearly yet to be resolved.While the Dodgers rode another big night from Teoscar Hernández (two hits, including a three-run home run, plus a walk) to a 6-3 defeat of the Cincinnati Reds, Ohtani went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while drawing only a seventh-inning walk; inspiring little confidence that, even if he’s able to take the field right now, his swing is close to being where he would like it to be.Back in his customary leadoff spot, Ohtani began the night with relatively loud contact, lifting a deep fly ball to left field that died just shy of the warning track. But after that, the 32-year-old looked largely unchanged from his recent offensive struggles.He swung through a changeup and slider from young Reds ace Chase Burnes in the third inning, going down on the latter while chasing a pitch in the dirt.He went down swinging again during his highest-leverage at-bat in the fifth, leaving a runner stranded at third after fanning on a first-pitch sweeper from left-handed reliever Brandon Williamson then whiffing on a two-strike changeup that was at the knees.Ohtani did show better plate discipline in the seventh, fouling off two pitches in the zone while taking four misses from Williamson for a walk.But even then, he didn’t seem completely right –– at one point even appearing to circle his troublesome right arm after a swing (though, it wasn’t cl...