Shohei Ohtani cannot buy a hit, and the Los Angeles Dodgers cannot afford it. Los Angeles trails the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 in the National League Championship Series. Manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani stays in the lineup for Game 3 on Wednesday night.
Picture the scene from Monday night. Ohtani flashed a bunt, then flailed at a sweeper way out of the zone. He lost his bat on the swing. That is not a slump. That is a nightmare you cannot wake up from.
He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 7-4 loss, according to ESPN. The best hitter on the planet looked lost in the biggest moment of the year.
Baseball is a cruel game that way. It does not care about your resume or your contract. Ohtani owns an MVP resume and zero answers at the plate right now. Both of those things can be true.
Roberts is not blinking
Roberts met the media before Tuesday’s workout and did not hedge. “He was adamant that he can help us,” the manager said of Ohtani. The plan held from there.
“He’s well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that’s all I needed to hear,” Roberts said. “I’ve never wavered in my belief in him.”
A source told ESPN that Ohtani would stay in the lineup as long as he felt healthy enough. That was the only test. He passed it himself.
Think about what that takes. You are stuck in the worst stretch of your career, on the sport’s loudest stage. And you still walk in and ask to keep hitting.
Ohtani owns the blame and will not pass it to his body. “The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit,” he said through an interpreter. He pointed to a left knee and a right arm that nagged him all summer.
He went further on the accountability. “Even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility,” Ohtani said. He called the mess an opportunity to tinker and try new things.
The cold streak is not new, and the numbers tell the whole ugly story.
| Ohtani’s cold run | The damage |
|---|---|
| Last home run | Aug. 18 |
| RBIs since Aug. 18 | 1 |
| Regular-season finish | 11-for-70, 29 strikeouts |
| Extra-base hits in that stretch | 3 |
| This postseason | 3-for-20 |
Those are not cold numbers. Those are frozen solid. One swing that finds the barrel would feel like a gift right now.
What Game 3 looks like
The Dodgers come home to Los Angeles down two games. They face Brewers left-hander Robert Gasser on Wednesday night, per ESPN. Roberts said Ohtani could hit anywhere from second to sixth.
That flexibility says plenty. Ohtani platooned at leadoff after returning from the injured list on Sept. 23. Then he slid to fourth and fifth during the Braves series. Now the order bends around one simple hope.
The math does not lie either. Down 2-0 in a best-of-seven, the Dodgers face a near must-win. No team wants to stare at a 3-0 hole. Game 3 carries that weight.
Ohtani sees two ways out of this. One path cuts the pain and the symptoms. The other just gets his swing moving right again. He may need both at once.
Here is the good news for Dodgers fans. Ohtani says the pain has subdued a lot since a two-week injured-list stint last month. The body is healing. The bat just has not caught up yet.
So the question hangs over Dodger Stadium like a held breath. Ohtani, are you there? Los Angeles has crawled out of holes before. This one needs its biggest star to finally wake up.
