When the Los Angeles Dodgers took the field for workouts on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, the club found itself in an unfamiliar corner. Trailing two games to zero against the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, manager Dave Roberts faced an uncomfortable dilemma: what to do with a visibly laboring Shohei Ohtani.
Ultimately, Roberts decided Ohtani will be in the lineup for Game 3 on Wednesday night, batting somewhere between the second and sixth spots. The choice to keep Ohtani in the order underscores both the immense gravity of the moment and the unique status of the sport’s most celebrated player, even when physical limitations and mechanical woes leave him searching for answers at the plate.
The weight of a prolonged slump
Ohtani has experienced a dismal start to the 2026 postseason. Through six October games, he has managed just three hits in 20 at-bats for a .150 batting average. He has struck out seven times, walked three times and stolen one base, without producing an extra-base hit or an RBI, leaving him with an OPS of .411, according to the Associated Press. In fact, Ohtani has not hit a home run since an Aug. 18 game at Colorado, a drought that was compounded by an injured list stint during the regular season, Fox News reported.
Compounding the problem are lingering physical ailments. Prior to the NL Division Series against Atlanta, Ohtani acknowledged that he was not at 100 percent because of right biceps and left knee issues that troubled him over the final months of the regular season, the AP noted. USA Today Sports reported that Roberts offered Ohtani the option to take a game or two off to reset, akin to Freddie Freeman’s three-day hiatus during the 2024 postseason before winning World Series MVP. Ohtani, however, rejected that approach.
Instead, Ohtani made an unscheduled appearance with reporters on Tuesday. Speaking through interpreter Will Ireton, Ohtani asserted that his symptoms have lessened significantly and dismissed them as an excuse for his lack of production, according to reports. “The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility,” Ohtani said.
Why Roberts is staying the course
From a strategic standpoint, removing Ohtani carries substantial risk for an offense that has ground to a halt across the board. The Dodgers are batting just .193 with a .263 on-base percentage and only one extra-base hit in the NLCS, having gone 2-for-26 with runners in scoring position this postseason, USA Today Sports reported. With the team on the brink, benching a four-time MVP could concede that the lineup’s highest ceiling is out of reach.
Roberts told reporters he decided after consulting with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes, Fox News reported. The manager emphasized Ohtani’s insistence that adjustments in batting practice are close to paying off. “He was very convicted that he is onto something mechanically (with his swing),” Roberts said, as quoted by the AP. “He was adamant that he can help us. He’s well enough to help us win a baseball game, so that’s all I needed to hear.”
Furthermore, Milwaukee remains cautious. Brewers manager Pat Murphy highlighted the respect his pitching staff must maintain, recalling Ohtani’s MVP performance in the 2025 NLCS sweep against Milwaukee, when Ohtani hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters from the mound in Game 4, according to the AP. Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell said he would have been “shocked” to see Ohtani on the bench, noting that “it takes one swing to come back,” USA Today Sports reported.
What comes next
Whether Ohtani’s self-diagnosed swing corrections materialize will be tested immediately. Game 3 features a matchup of left-handers, with Los Angeles sending two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to the mound against Milwaukee’s Robert Gasser, according to the AP.
For the two-time defending champion Dodgers, the remaining margin for error is razor-thin. If Ohtani breaks out, Los Angeles can regain traction in the series; if his struggles persist, the club risks falling into a virtually insurmountable 3-0 hole.
