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Even though he wasn't sharp and took the loss, Shohei Ohtani allowed just one earned run in six innings against the Marlins on Tuesday.

Though his pitching line ended up looking dominant, Shohei Ohtani’s first loss was of his own making, according to his manager.

Dave Roberts explained how the Los Angeles Dodgers ace struggled in his first loss of the season, a 2-1 defeat to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

Ohtani only allowed five hits and one unearned run while striking out nine over six innings for the Dodgers on Tuesday night. Still, he left trailing 2-0 and took the loss, only his second regular-season loss on the mound in a Dodgers uniform.

Dave Roberts: Shohei Ohtani was ‘Not Sharp’ Against the Marlins

Most pitchers would love to finish with the numbers Ohtani did while grinding out a quality start. But Ohtani, and the Dodgers, have set higher standards for their ace two-way player.

“I thought it was a navigation,” Roberts said. “I don’t think he felt completely in sync. There were a lot of misfires, a lot of bad misses.”

Ohtani walked three and threw just 67 of 104 pitches for strikes, while also committing the second-inning throwing error that led to Owen Caissie’s sac fly that put the Marlins ahead 1-0.

Reporters caught Ohtani flexing his neck during the game, and Roberts said “that could have led to his misfires.”

Still, he only allowed one extra-base hit in his outing, a first-inning double to Miami shortstop Otto Lopez. Ohtani’s ERA spiked to 0.60, up from 0.38 before the game, since the earned run was just his second allowed in five outings.

But the Dodgers fell to 2-3 in Ohtani starts. Both runs against Ohtani came on bizarre innings, aided by productive outs and sacrifices — Kyle Stowers‘ two-out RBI single (106.4 exit velocity) in the fifth inning was one of the few hard-hit balls and drove in the lone earned run.

“For him to find a way to navigate six innings and then give up two runs,” Roberts said, “we should win the game.”

Shohei Ohtani Pitched and Did Not Hit Again Tuesday

It’s not a coincidence that the Dodgers were held down offensively on a night Ohtani took the hill and was not in the Dodgers’ lineup for just the second time ever.

But Roberts wasn’t ready to blame Ohtani’s absence for LA’s paltry offensive output, even on a night when it went 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position without the two-time reigning NL MVP.

“I don’t think that’s going to play in my math,” Roberts said when asked about LA’s offensive woes without Ohtani. “The main thing is to do right by Shohei. Even without him in the lineup tonight, we should’ve won the game.

“I’d do the same thing again.”

Ohtani was also an offensive spectator during the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the New York Mets on April 15. On that day, his replacement, Dalton Rushing, took over at DH and leadoff and went 2 for 4 with a home run while driving in four runs.

But Ohtani both hit and pitched in his most recent outing, a 3-0 loss to the rival San Francisco Giants where LA was four hit. Ohtani had a no-decision in that game but went 0 for 4 at the plate.