The Los Angeles Dodgers are on the brink of elimination in the National League Championship Series, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0, and Shohei Ohtani has been one of the biggest reasons why their offense has gone cold.
But rather than dropping Ohtani further down the order or benching him completely, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went the other direction for Thursday’s Game 4, moving the struggling star back to the leadoff spot, even with the Brewers sending a left-hander to the mound.
Ohtani’s Postseason Struggles
Ohtani has looked lost at the plate for most of October. He’s hitting just .182 this postseason, with only four singles in 22 at-bats, and he hasn’t homered since Aug. 18.
As a result, he’s been bouncing around the Dodgers’ lineup. After returning from the injured list on Sept. 23, he platooned with Mookie Betts at leadoff. He then moved into the No. 4 and No. 5 spots during the NL Division Series, and he hit sixth in Game 3 of the NLCS, his lowest spot in a starting lineup since 2020.
Things haven’t been much better for the rest of the Dodgers. Los Angeles has just two extra-base hits through three games of the series, and its .572 OPS this postseason ranks 240th out of the 246 teams that have played at least seven games in a single postseason.
As a result of his struggles and his health issues, there has been some conversation about the possibility of benching Ohtani. Instead, the opposite happened.
‘Absolutely, put him at the top’
Roberts initially planned to give Ohtani at least one game off to rest, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. But the manager said that Ohtani was “adamant” and “convicted” that he was close to figuring things out mechanically.
Ohtani showed a few encouraging signs in Wednesday’s 6-2 loss, reaching base on a walk and a hit-by-pitch and lining a 113.5 mph single up the middle.
That was enough for Roberts to put him back at the top of the order against Brewers lefty Shane Drohan. It will be Ohtani’s first time leading off against a left-handed starter since Sept. 2.
“The work, being here till 9 o’clock two nights ago working, the at-bats yesterday — for me, baking all that in, I felt, ‘Absolutely, put him at the top,'” Roberts said. “I feel good about him taking five at-bats and giving us our best chance to win and produce runs today.”
As for how Ohtani reacted to the news, Roberts said he didn’t actually get a reaction.
“I didn’t tell him,” Roberts said with a grin. “I just posted the lineup.”
Only one team in MLB history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Clearly, the Dodgers are hoping that Ohtani can help them become the second.
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