SI:AM | Dodgers Could Bench Shohei Ohtani as His Struggles Continue

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m still thinking about the chaotic end of the Giants-Commanders game. 

In today’s SI:AM: 
📉 Ohtani’s struggles continue
🤯 Bills prevail in wild MNF game
👎 College football’s biggest busts

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Time to sit Ohtani?

It’s been a while since the Dodgers have found themselves in the situation they’re currently in. 

Los Angeles lost Game 2 of the NLCS to the Brewers last night in Milwaukee, and now it trails 2–0 as the series heads to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday. It’s the first time since the 2023 NLDS that the Dodgers have trailed 2–0 in a postseason series. 

That might not seem like that long ago, but you have to remember that the Dodgers have won eight playoff series since then. In fact, it’s notable that the Dodgers find themselves in any sort of early hole. They had won the opening game in seven of those eight series. 

These aren’t the same Dodgers that have dominated MLB for the past few years, though. The most glaring difference is that Shohei Ohtani is a shell of his usual self. Nagging knee and arm injuries have sapped Ohtani of his power at the plate and kept him from pitching altogether. After going 0-for-4 in last night’s game, Ohtani is 3-for-20 (.150) in the postseason. He hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18, which was 24 games ago. That’s the longest single-season homerless drought of his career. 

Ohtani’s slump is bad enough that the Dodgers are considering benching him for Game 3. 

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good,” manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic after Game 2. “He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it.

“I’ll have [that conversation] with him tomorrow.”

The fact that Roberts would entertain the idea of sitting one of the best hitters of this generation tells you just how compromised Ohtani is right now. He hasn’t been pulling the ball or making solid contact all postseason. He ripped a single into right field at 105.4 mph in the first inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, but he hasn’t squared up a ball since. Click through this list of every ball Ohtani has put in play this postseason and you’ll see a whole bunch of pop-ups and soft grounders. He’s searching so desperately for an answer to his woes that he even squared to bunt during his at-bat in the sixth inning last night. (He wound up striking out.)

As hard as it is to believe, Ohtani’s continued presence in the lineup is hurting the Dodgers. Roberts has already tried dropping Ohtani in the batting order, hitting him fifth in Game 3 of the NLDS against lefty Chris Sale and fourth in the past three games. But Ohtani’s poor performance is not an issue that can be solved by shuffling the lineup. Last night’s 0-fer made it clear that Roberts needs to take bolder action. 

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo reported that rookie Josue De Paula is the leading candidate to take Ohtani’s spot in the lineup if Roberts decides to make a move. De Paula, 21, is one of the top prospects in baseball. He hit 27 homers in 124 games in Double A this season and got his first taste of big league action in September when Ohtani was on the injured list. Replacing a living legend with a guy barely old enough to take part in a clubhouse champagne celebration is a drastic move, but the Dodgers need to be aggressive if they’re going to pull out of this hole. 

The best of Sports Illustrated

The top five…

… things I saw last night: 
5. Ray Davis’s 70-yard return on the opening kickoff against the Rams. Special teams play continues to be the Rams’ weak point, as you’ll see below. 
4. Jake Bauers’s 12-pitch, nearly eight-minute plate appearance against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Bauers worked a walk, then Christian Yelich recorded a go-ahead two-run single against a fatigued Yamamoto. 
3. Brady Tkachuk’s between-the-legs assist. 
2. An amazing fingertip catch by Rams tight end Davis Allen. 
1. Gregory Rousseau’s field goal block in overtime that kept the Bills alive against the Rams. Tyler Bass hit a 45-yard field goal to win it for Buffalo. 

📺 What we’re watching today …

MLB

Guardians at Rays, 8 p.m. ET, TBS
Cleveland took Game 1 last night after its bats came alive late. Now the Rays will look to even the series before heading on the road. Freddy Peralta will get the start for Tampa Bay, facing Parker Messick. 

NHL

Avalanche at Stars, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
These burgeoning rivals met in a seven-game series during the 2025 playoffs and were the two best teams in the Western Conference last season. This is their first of four meetings this season. The second will be tomorrow night in Denver, also on national TV (8:30 p.m. ET on TNT). 

Soccer

U.S. women’s national team vs. Spain, 7 p.m. ET, TNT
The two top teams in the world rankings meet in the second of two friendlies. Spain won the first matchup, 2–0, on Saturday afternoon, but the U.S. has a chance to rebound in this meeting of World Cup contenders. 

College Football 

Delaware at Middle Tennessee, 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
FIU at Jacksonville State, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU
The later game is the more significant of these two Conference USA matchups. Jacksonville State has reached the CUSA championship game in each of the past two seasons and is off to a 2–0 start in conference play this year.