The Los Angeles Dodgers battle to stay alive in the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, but they’re dealing with inconsistent Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani remains in a serious slump due to knee and bicep injuries. The four-time MVP went 3-for-20 in at-bats this postseason, without any extra-base hits, with seven strikeouts and hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18.
After losing two games in Milwaukee, Dave Roberts said he would consider benching Ohtani when the NLCS moves to Los Angeles. However, the Dodgers manager wouldn’t make such a drastic move in Game 3.
Roberts told reporters on Tuesday that he would keep Ohtani in the starting lineup after Ohtani insisted he was healthy enough to turn things around.
“He’s convinced he can help us,” Roberts said, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. “He’s healthy enough to help us win a baseball game. So that’s all I needed to hear. My belief in him has never wavered.”
Ohtani said through a translator that his injury has “reduced a lot” since returning from the injured list in late September.
“These symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit the ball,” Ohtani said. “Even if the injury happened by accident, I take full responsibility. I think this is an opportunity for me to take full responsibility. Today, it’s going to be another process for me to tinker and try new things.”
It’s certainly risky to bench a generational player with the season on the line, but the Dodgers are running out of time for Ohtani to make the right move. He has gone nine straight games without a hit or RBI, hasn’t batted deep in his past 24 games and is batting .156.
Roberts moved Ohtani from leadoff to cleanup position in both games in Milwaukee, so it will be interesting to see if he gives up the star slugger further. Game 3 begins Wednesday at 8pm ET on FS1.